Still of the Night
by Nightborn Dreamer
Summary: On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted. NaruSasuNaru.
1. The hunter and his pet

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 1: **The hunter and his pet

**Warnings: **Angst, death, and a homosexual relationship.

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Rating: **M/NC-17

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **So I've decided to post and finish this. I love the plot and the supernatural genre so…wish me luck? The first chapter kind of doubles as a prologue/introduction. The chapter length will increase throughout the story.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NS*~**

The night echoed as wolves cried to the moon. It peered down on them, witnessing the end of the lives, though it wasn't the only one watching. Cold eyes that appeared black in the night looked down at the dying creatures with apathy. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy for them, nor was there any trace remorse for ending their lives. Their fates were sealed once the silver pieced their skin again and again. The ground ran red with their blood, their bodies littering the earth. They would be left to decompose and return to it or taken back to the village to be burned out of existence entirely.

Another night, another kill.

This was Sasuke Uchiha's life on nights of the full moon. His people were experts at werewolf hunting. Once they figured out their weakness was silver, they forged weapons made purely of it. They lived in a village surrounded by a thick forest where werewolves liked to migrate to, mostly to hunt. The only problem with this was…some of them liked to hunt _people_. Sasuke still remembered, vividly, the first time he had seen a werewolf. It was large, its fur red – whether stained by the blood of its victims or naturally, he had no idea – and it was standing over a woman. Sasuke had known the woman. She worked at the bakery with her husband and had children of her own. She was a kind-hearted woman who didn't deserve to die, not like that.

Seven year old Sasuke had seen his very first monster. For what else could they be?

They hunted in packs, most of the time, but sometimes one or two would run astray. It was usually those that wandered into the village and attacked people. But when a whole pack attacked…you could expect there to be a lot of deaths on both sides. That was including the executions that had to be made afterwards. When people were attacked by the wolves and still lived, they carried their disease. No one knew how it worked exactly, but once someone was wounded by a wolf they were dead. It didn't matter if they survived the attack. They would be executed no matter their pleas, or the personal feelings of their executers. It was a hard life, and those were hard decisions, but nothing could be done.

So many loved ones lost because of the moon beasts…and yet…

"My, this is quite the graveyard you've made," a deep voice said behind him.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at his older brother, Itachi, and lowered his bow. There were many different weapons hunters carried, but Sasuke himself preferred his bow and silver-tipped arrows. That way he didn't have to get too close to the monsters. The more distance the better. Because after he killed them, they turned back into their human forms and he didn't want to see their faces. He didn't want to know that they were human once, that they had a family and friends and a lover or two waiting for them to come home the next morning. He wasn't in charge of delivering such news and never wished to.

"Father will be so proud," his brother continued. "Though I wonder what your future will be, when you scare everyone off with that face of yours."

It was true. Sasuke had become accustomed to placing a heartless mask over his face. The up side was that the majority of people were too afraid to mess with him. However there were still some people who tried talking to him, both male and female. The girls would try and flirt and the boys would try and show off by trying to pick a fight with him. They were both equally annoying. Sasuke wasn't interested in either of those things or those people.

"Hn," was the only answer Sasuke offered his brother before brushing past him. He could feel his brother's eyes – so much like his own, but far more drained – watching him but didn't bother to turn around. He knew what he'd see in those eyes and he didn't need it.

"_Father will be so proud." _

It was true. Their father hated werewolves more than any other he'd ever met. It was almost frightening. If Fugaku had his way, the entire race would be exterminated from the world. Sasuke knew this all too well. Sometimes he wondered what his father would say or think of him if he were to ever find out Sasuke's little secret. It was a secret he kept from everyone and everything. It was a secret that only the moon bared witness to, night after night. It would probably stay that way for the rest of his life, else his secret be taken from him. What would he do if his father took that from him? That was a question that plagued him often and one he didn't have an answer to.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a wolf howling. Eyes narrowing, he went to find a good spot where he'd have a good shot at whatever was coming his way.

The night was far from over.

It never would be.

**~*NS*~**

The night was over. All of the hunters went home to face the mess. Two of them had been hurt and would face execution the next day. It was a reoccurring happening after the night of the full moon. But things had changed. At first, they only hunted when the wolves were too close to their home. Now it seemed as if they were hunting them just for the sport of it, or rather, to sooth their growing hatred for the creatures.

It was still rather dark out; the sun was just starting to rise, giving the earth a dim glow. Sasuke watched everyone stand outside of their homes, the families of the hunters. They would search out the eyes of their loved ones in hope that they returned unharmed. He saw two of the families become tearful when they received sad looks and shaking heads. A woman fell to her knees and covered her mouth, grief already taking a hold of her. Children looked at her in question, not quite old enough to know what was going on.

Sasuke looked away.

They won some and they lost some…but sometimes he wondered if their winnings were worth all of the losses. Numbing grief lingered in the air and never truly left. The sun rarely ever shined in that unholy place anymore. Even when it was high up in the sky, the clouds covered its golden shine, making the world gray.

When passing the grieving families, Sasuke bowed his head respectfully, but quickened his walk. There was nothing he could do for them, nothing he could say to them. Nothing anyone did would ever diminish their pain.

Itachi had beaten him home, but he looked much too tired to say anything more to him. His brother merely gave him a tired look, placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed, then went off to bed. Sasuke on the other hand, knew he wouldn't be getting sleep any time soon. So instead he began cleaning his arrows. After killing the wolves, he would retrieve them. After all, making new ones was time consuming and expensive.

His father came home soon after, looking just as tired but also satisfied. They had killed quite the number of wolves that night. His father was sure to be in good spirits the next day. Sasuke didn't know what to think of that anymore. After all, they had lost two comrades. What was there to smile and be gleeful about? But ah, revenge was just too sweet a flavor he supposed.

The man didn't even bother to look at him, just passed him by and went to bed. Looking out of the window, Sasuke saw that the village looked rather deserted. Being as quiet as a mouse, which really wasn't hard for him, Sasuke put his weapons away and slipped his boots back on. It was the peak of dawn. The sun was barely over the horizon. The clouds would follow shortly after, to blanket the sky. When he got outside, it was almost eerily quiet. There were still lights on in the homes of the grieving, but that was to be expected. It was still safe for him to leave, as they would be too absorbed in their memories to notice him. It was the perfect time for him to sneak away unnoticed, just as he had done many nights before.

He wandered deep into the forest, heading for the spot his memory could never forget. There was a slight opening surrounded by trees, the ground covered in leaves. He brushed the leaves away with his foot to reveal a hatch. Bending down and pulling the door up, he slowly climbed down the steps and into the hole. There was a small wooden table with a candle on it, which he quickly lit. It brought light to the small hidden room. His eyes immediately locked onto the nude body lying still on the ground that was covered in hay. Sasuke had robbed a barn to get that hay, to keep the boy warm on cold nights.

Setting the lit candle back on the low table, Sasuke slowly and quietly walked over to the man. To Naruto. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a small key. The man's hands were cuffed behind his back; his ankles were also in chains which dug deep into the ground. It was for his own good, to be bound like this on the nights of the full moon. After all…

The man was a werewolf himself.

A part of Sasuke knew how dangerous it was to keep one of them alive, but he couldn't help it. He knew it wasn't fair to the people who were forced to watch their loved ones executed but…he just couldn't let Naruto die. He was his best friend, something even more than that now, and he simply couldn't allow him to be executed. It would have been too painful to bear. When he first saw that Naruto was one of them, he didn't know what to do – the hunter side of him, the side that had been raised and molded by his father, screamed at him to kill him. But once he raised his bow he became frozen. He couldn't do it. So instead, Sasuke killed another werewolf. He burned the body so severely that when it turned back into its human form it was unrecognizable.

Who's loved one was that, he sometimes wondered. But it was just a passing thought. It did no good to ponder on such things. It was done, over with, and life moved on. Whoever he was, he would have been burned anyway. So what did it matter?

Kneeling down to the shackled man, Sasuke ran his fingers through his blond locks. They were softer than one might think, as they were a spiky mess most of the time. At that moment, he allowed himself something he didn't do so often anymore. He smiled. Naruto began stirring in his sleep, slowly waking. Bending down low until his mouth was right next to Naruto's ear, Sasuke whispered,

"Naruto, wake up. The full moon night is over."


	2. What he takes to the grave

**Title: **In the Still of the Night

**Chapter 2: **What he takes to the grave

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Feedback: **Thank you very much to those who gave it! I appreciate your kind words greatly and very much enjoyed reading them.

**Edit: **Since chapter 3 was also very short and pretty much had the same theme as chapter 2 I decided to put them together and add a bit in between.

**Author Notes:** So since I don't want to do the flashbacks in Italics I've decided on an easy way for you guys to know. When the scene changes but the time period doesn't, it will be marked off with a ~*NS*~, however when the scene changes to show an event from the past I'll use a line breaker or whatever those things are called. You know, the long gray line that stretches horizontally across the page. Hopefully that'll make things less confusing for you guys. ^_^;; In this chapter's case, whenever you see a line breaker it's to change from the present to the past and vice versa.

Also, something I forgot to mention last chapter, this story was inspired by the song Still of the Night by Tarja. I highly suggest you listen to it. :3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters nor the fandom.

**~*NS*~**

The night was quiet with nothing but the sounds of crickets, owls, and bats outside. Inside, however, the bed creaked as two bodies, tangled in the sheets, moved together in a sweet rhythm. Heavy breathing mingled between them, as well as soft moans and growls. The moon gave little light to the room and the open window wasn't enough to cool them as their bodies became damp with sweat.

A large tan male hovered over the other, whose skin was fairer. His wild blond hair was matted to his face as he stared down at the man beneath him with glazed, half-lidded eyes. He lived for nights like this. The passionate love he had for the other was a fire that would never burn out. He dug his sharpened nails into the mattress, wanting nothing more than to bite the other, or dig his nails into his skin, but he knew the rules.

His lover threw his head back against the pillow. Not one to resist an offering, the blond leaned down, covering his body completely with his own, and licked him from his collar bone to his jaw. He ran his tongue against his sharpened fangs as he kissed and sucked at the man's pulse, letting himself imagine what it would be like to just give into the temptation and sink his fangs into him. Shuddering at the mere mental image of it.

His lover was such a cold bastard, both his personality at times and literally. His body temperature was naturally low. But on nights like these, he was so warm. It made the blond feel good to know that he was responsible for making his heart beat quicken and his body heat up as the blood rushed through his veins.

No one else could do that, after all.

Overcome by his desire, he pulled back from the neck, biting his own lip so he wouldn't slip.

"Sasuke," he breathed, azure eyes looking down at him in adoration.

"Shhh," Sasuke managed to get out, though it was soon followed by a hiss. He grabbed at his lover's arms, his nails digging into his biceps as he felt himself come undone. It was torture, having to stay as silent as possible, though Sasuke allowed himself to softly whisper his partner's name at the end, "Naruto."

Naruto let out something between a low groan and a growl as he soon followed. He jerked his hips inside of Sasuke, before collapsing on the other. Gently pulling out of the other, he pressed his lips against Sasuke's, and then moved down to nibble at his jaw, being careful not to break the skin.

He didn't want to infect Sasuke with his 'disease' after all.

Sasuke let Naruto do as he wished. He could feel the nibbles, the hands roaming and massaging his body as he worked on calming his breathing. His heart was still racing in his chest and his body felt like a living furnace. Feeling Naruto nuzzle his neck, he brought his own hands up to rub at his back. If the blond were a cat, he'd probably be purring. Sasuke never really understood it, but the man loved having his back rubbed.

"I wish I could stay," Naruto sighed.

Sasuke said nothing. There was nothing more _to_ say. Naruto had brought up the issue many times in the past, and would probably continue to do so for a long time to come. It must be hard for him, Sasuke often thought. After all, this village used to be Naruto's home too, up until he got infected with the strange virus that made him change into one of 'them'.

It was a night impossible for Sasuke to forget, as every time he closed his eyes he relived it.

* * *

Another night, another massacre. More bodies littered the ground. Some were torn to shreds by claws, others with blade wounds and arrows sticking out from their bodies.

Sasuke, at the age of thirteen, took in the bloody scenery as well as the weeping loved ones that were now left behind. The hunters of the village were gathering up the bodies. The bodies of the wolves would be burned, so nothing remained, and the victims would be buried respectfully.

He found it strange. Why not bury the wolves as well? After all, beneath all of that fur, weren't they still people? It baffled him to see people kick at the bodies after they transformed back to their human forms, even if they were a loved one. Kicking their brother, sister, father, mother, friend, or lover… On nights where the howls were impossible to ignore, Sasuke would lie in his bed and wonder what he would do, what he would think or feel if someone he loved turned into one of them. Would he react the same way as everyone else? Would he cast his love for that person away and replace it with hate and disgust? It was hard to imagine feeling such things towards his family and friends. Impossible even.

How were they able to do it?

It was a question that arose in his mind often. But there were no answers to be held. If he were to ask them, he was sure they'd get defensive and react angrily.

People were so predictable.

At his age, he too was a hunter, but an amateur. He didn't go out into the forest to hunt the things. His job was to look out for them, listen for them, and protect the citizens from them when they did enter the village. It was not his job to chase after them, or go looking for them. That was the job of the older, more experienced hunters. But there were so many sometimes and they moved so fast. It was impossible to keep up and protect everyone. And sometimes, the more experienced hunters would be in the forest and take awhile to come back.

Walking through the village, avoiding stepping on anyone, he looked at the bodies and found two other amateur hunters around his age. Quickly looking away, not wanting to see, he felt his heart speed up at the thought of seeing his friend. He was relieved to have seen a few up and walking around, uninjured, but one was missing…his best friend…

Where was he?

His footsteps quickened along with his heartbeat. Surely, that idiot wouldn't have gone off into the forest, would he? No. He knew the rules. Sure, he was reckless and sometimes did stupid things, but this would have been crossing a line!

It was still dark out; the wolves were still in the forest. He could hear distant howls now and then but they were far enough that he didn't have to worry or feel the need to tell the others. He was sure they could hear them as well anyway.

He almost stumbled over someone's arm in his haste. Stopping to right himself, his eyes fell upon the barn. That was their place. Maybe he was just upset that he didn't get to see much action and went to mope? Whatever the reason, Sasuke felt himself being pulled to that place, that old, abandoned place. The barn belonged to Naruto's father. He was one of the first victims of the werewolves…and the first to be executed.

Needless to say, his friend felt more strongly about how the dead wolves were treated than he did.

When Sasuke got to the entrance of the barn, he hesitated. There was a twisting feeling deep in his gut that he couldn't shake off, but had to ignore. Maybe it was his hunter instincts telling him to be prepared for anything. After all, the full moon was still out.

Holding his bow close, Sasuke made sure he had enough arrows with him in case there was some sort of threat in there. A part of him wondered if he should perhaps call someone if he was this tense, but something told him not to. Something inside of him screamed that he would regret it if he did. Never had he had such a strong feeling…so he decided to trust his gut. He opened the door just enough to slip through. It was dark and quiet inside, but his trained ears picked up the faint sound of someone in pain.

Sasuke moved slowly and carefully with the grace of a panther. He saw his friend hunched behind a stack of hay and after giving the barn a quick once over to make sure they were alone, he rushed to him.

"Naruto," he whispered the name, kneeling down next to him. Naruto started, and turned to look at Sasuke with wide eyes full of panic and fear. "Why are you-" All words died on Sasuke's tongue, caught in his throat as he saw the deep wound on Naruto's shoulder.

He was infected.

At first, Sasuke couldn't move, couldn't think. Suddenly he was being forced to find the answer to the question he had always pondered.

Could he still care about Naruto, now that he was…one of them?

Jumping back, Sasuke gripped his bow so tightly that his knuckles were white. In response, Naruto slowly stood, slightly trembling. Onyx eyes locked with sapphire, unblinking and both wide with fright and other emotions Sasuke couldn't place mixed in. He focused on the fear though and couldn't help but want to reach out to him. Naruto had always been such a proud and almost cocky brat, he had never seen him this way before, especially directed at him. He didn't know how he felt about that. Naruto had always looked at him with joy, anger, annoyance, or affection. But Sasuke quickly shoved those mental images and the emotions that came with them away. He would have to lock them up in a box and never open it again.

Sasuke blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and fought to keep his face stoic.

Naruto took a hesitant step toward him. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke's immediate response was to quickly grab an arrow and ready his bow. "Don't move!" Narrowing his eyes, he had Naruto in his sight. Now wasn't the time to behave like a child easily overcome by his emotions. He was a hunter. He knew the law. When someone was infected, they must be executed. Better him than someone else right? Wouldn't Naruto prefer Sasuke to be the last person he saw rather than someone else? Naruto didn't get along well with the rest of the villagers and hunters. In his eyes, they murdered his parents and were the reason he had no family.

Yes. It would be better if Sasuke killed him.

So why wouldn't his hands stop shaking? Why was he hesitating?

Shaking his head, he drew the arrow back. All he had to do was release and he'd strike Naruto right through the chest.

"I have to do this," Sasuke stated, mostly to himself but still loud enough for Naruto to hear him. Surely he'd understand. He was raised the same way. So why did his eyes look so sad? He wondered how long that emotion would stay had he lived. Did werewolves feel emotions, or were they just the monsters he was raised to believe they were?

"Sasuke?"

Jumping at the sound of his own name, it took Sasuke a moment to realize that the person calling him wasn't Naruto, but his father. His father who hated werewolves more than anyone he'd ever seen. He would show no hesitation. He would heartlessly kill Naruto, quickly and efficiently.

The box he had tried to put together just minutes before broke back open. Memories of his time spent with his friend flashed through his mind and before he knew it, his bow was dropped to the ground and he was in front of Naruto, shoving him away.

"Go!"

"Sa-"

"_GO_! RUN! Run and don't _EVER_ come back!" Sasuke was screaming like he was mad. Naruto was looking at him like he as mad. Maybe he was. But he didn't want to see Naruto die. He didn't want to see him burned until nothing left of him remained. He would already be forced to burn every picture with Naruto in it, his belongings and home. He would be erased from the village but Sasuke didn't want him to be erased entirely.

He didn't want Naruto to disappear.

Perhaps it was selfish of him. On the next new moon, Naruto would be one of them. He would be hunting them and they would be hunting him. Maybe he would even join a pack. Not only was keeping him alive selfish, but dangerous as well.

Still he continued shouting at him to run.

And run he did.

Naruto bolted out from the back of the barn, holding his wounded shoulder. Blood dripped on the ground and created a dotted path. Sasuke found himself kicking at the hay, covering up the blood in a frenzied rush. When he heard people getting closer to the barn, he ran in the same direction as Naruto. At first, it was because he didn't know what to do. How could he explain letting Naruto go? But then, as he heard a wolf howling in the distance, he knew what he could do.

That was the night Sasuke went out on his own and killed his first werewolf in the woods.

* * *

Pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp nip to his neck, Sasuke shoved Naruto off of him.

"Careful!" he hissed, bringing his hand up to his neck to make sure no blood was drawn. Sitting up, he looked over to see Naruto on his knees next to the bed, staring at him, his expression hard to read.

"I wouldn't have broken your precious rule," he replied, almost bitterly.

Some nights Sasuke didn't know what Naruto wanted from him. The blond was angry, or perhaps frustrated would have been the more appropriate term. It wasn't that he didn't completely understand. He enjoyed digging his nails into Naruto's arms, dragging them along his back to create angry red lines and sometimes biting down on his neck or shoulder when he came…but that was safe.

"Don't start," Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. "Hand me my clothes, will you?"

"I'm not your maid," Naruto grumbled, but did as asked anyway. "I'm tired of being your dirty little secret Sasuke. Why are you even still here?"

_Why are you here_? Why? It was a question that plagued Sasuke's mind more than he'd like.

"I'm lonely, Sasuke," Naruto whispered, letting his barriers down. "I can only see you at night, when I sneak in or you sneak out. But what is there for me to do during the day besides sleep and hunt? And even at night, you need to sleep too and all I can do is lay next to you and watch… I don't have anyone but you anymore. I lost everything and everyone but you. I mean…maybe if could join a pack it'd be-"

Sasuke immediately shut Naruto up by grabbing his shoulder and digging his nails harshly in the skin.

"No. You can't. If you join a pack how will you explain me chaining you up on the nights of the full moon? They'll talk you out of it and then I'll have to kill you." The intensity of Sasuke's eyes, the stern tone…it would have made anyone else back down. Anyone but Naruto.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Naruto snapped back, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and pulling his hand away. "If you kill me, it's because you want to."

"You're being childish. If I wanted to kill you I'd have done so a long time ago." Pulling free from Naruto's grip, Sasuke turned on the bed and put his shirt on. Once he did, he stood up from the bed, ignoring Naruto's stare. "Come on. Day will break soon…I'll walk with you back out of the village."

After Naruto got dressed, they snuck out of his bedroom window and walked quietly towards the woods. The moon was fading from the sky, soon to be replaced by the sun under a blanket of clouds. Sasuke resisted the urge to rub his temples or eyes as he walked through the village with Naruto. They did their best to stay out of wide open areas of the village. He couldn't help but wonder if Naruto could smell the bodies. After unchaining Naruto, they had come back to the village to be together. Naruto never liked being in his 'hideout' after those nights. He liked to be reminded that he was human by being with Sasuke in his room and, most times, making love to him in his bed.

When they reached the woods, Sasuke only walked with him for a little bit before stopping. He wanted to be back home before at least his father and brother woke up.

Naruto understood this without him having to say it, so he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and kissed his temple.

"I'll see you tonight then…?"

Sasuke relaxed into the embrace and gave Naruto a squeeze. "As always." Lightly shoving him away, he turned around and left before he was further tempted to stay. Parting ways with Naruto was never easy. Nothing could replace the warmth his lover radiated and no one could make him feel as at ease – even though he acted like a brat sometimes.

_Time to face the burnings, _Sasuke thought, dreading the day.

* * *

Sasuke came back to the village to face sympathetic and proud eyes.

He had killed his best friend, or so they believed.

He didn't want to see those eyes or expressions – and he _really_ didn't want them to see his – so he kept his head down. But before he could get too far into the village, he heard someone run up to him and it was followed by the feeling of a small fist pounding against his chest. Surprised, he looked up to face a crying Sakura. She sniffed and sobbed and beat against his chest with no real effort.

"You were supposed to be with him! How could you let this happen? This is why we have a buddy system! How could you let him go off on his own when we're only beginners?" she blubbered as she curled forward, pressing her forehead against his collar bone and still continuing her weak assault.

Sasuke didn't know what to do or say, he only pushed his own tears back. Naruto wasn't dead, but only he knew that. What was he supposed to say to Sakura and the others? It was true. He and Naruto were partnered up. It was his job to keep an eye on him and he failed. Even if Naruto wasn't dead, he was still gone. Would he ever see him again? Did he even _want_ to see him again when he wouldn't be human anymore?

"Sakura," a deep voice called out as he pushed through the crowd to go to her. Her father gently pulled her back by the shoulders until she turned and cried against him.

"Where is his body?" someone else from the crowd asked.

"I…"

"He burned it in the forest," Itachi cut in from behind him. He had gone to search for Sasuke and saw him while he was burning the body of the unknown man. "I watched him do it."

Sakura turned to look at him over her shoulder. "You…you didn't bring him back?"

Not saying anything, Sasuke avoided her gaze.

"What does it matter so long as he killed it?" his own father said, but Sasuke didn't feel it was out of protection. He honestly didn't care where they died, so long as they did. He felt himself tense when it registered that he referred to Naruto as an 'it'. He already wasn't being viewed as a human anymore, but a _thing_ to be exposed of. He clenched his fists and fought the urge to squeeze his eyes shut, not wanting to show too much emotion no matter how much it bothered him.

"But Naruto…"

"He wouldn't have been buried," Sasuke snapped bitterly. "I'm sorry if I didn't give you the chance to watch him burn away until there was nothing left."

"Wild animals don't get buried, just disposed of," his father grunted as he passed through the crowd and towards home.

As everyone left to go back home, Sasuke stayed still as stone. He never questioned his life before then, never allowed himself to. While Naruto did all of the time, and though he listened, he never questioned it.

But now, the thought racing through his mind was that this felt wrong.

* * *

The entire village reeked of smoke. Sasuke wondered if it was actually possible for him to pick up the scent of burning flesh, or if it was just in his imagination. Either way, days after the full moon were always hard for him to swallow. Each time he closed his eyes, he imagined that it was Naruto they were burning. It wasn't an image he cared to have. And yet…despite knowing how dangerous it was for Naruto to remain so close to the village, he was unable to let him go.

Not that Naruto _wanted_ to be let go.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see his long time friend, Sakura, make her way towards him. His friendship with Sakura really picked up after Naruto had 'died'. She had been friends with the boy too and while they didn't all get along at first, they had grown on each other. Sometimes Naruto would ask about Sakura, ask how she was doing and if she was still alive. Sasuke might have told her that Naruto was alive but she too was a hunter. Even though she loved Naruto as well, he worried over her reaction to such news.

After all, she loved Naruto the human, not Naruto the werewolf.

Would she be able to realize that they were still the same person, or would her mind separate them?

Sasuke wasn't so sure.

Besides, unlike Sasuke, Sakura had already grieved for him. She let him go and was comforted with the idea that his suffering had ended. Sasuke didn't have the heart to tell her that his suffering was still going strong – stronger than ever, probably. It was something that _he_ didn't even want to know. But that was just another burden he'd have to bare.

Once Sakura caught up to him, she immediately wound her arms around his neck and held him close. Sasuke allowed the embrace, but only partly returned it, placing one hand on the small of her back. Other than that, he merely closed his eyes and waited for her to get it out of her system. Ever since Naruto 'died', Sakura would go around and embrace all of her loved ones after the night of the full moon, happy to see that they survived another night.

"We made it," she whispered, like so many other times before.

"Yes. I'm alive to go through it again next month."

Pulling away from him, Sakura laughed softly though there was no humor in it. "Always so blunt and cynical." Awkwardly, she looked down at her brown boots and toed at the dirt. "Anyway, I was planning to go there and, well, I wanted to know if you'd come with me."

Ah, yes. There.

Naruto's grave.

Because Naruto was dead.

It was forbidden, to make a grave for a dead werewolf. They weren't human and therefore weren't to be treated as such. It wasn't Sasuke's idea. Torn with grief and guilt, Sakura suggested that they make him a little something. Something to visit and place flowers at and to just _remember_ him. Sasuke warned her that it was illegal in their village, that they could get into huge trouble, but she was so emotional at the time, logic had no meaning to her. All she wanted to do was grieve for their friend and Sasuke had to pretend he felt the same which, in a way, he did. So they made it and grieved for different reasons that were also, in a way, the same.

Sakura grieved for Naruto's death, Sasuke grieved for something more selfish. He grieved for not having him there to be his escape anymore. And yet they were both mourning his loss. The only difference was that Sasuke knew he was alive, or knew that there was a chance he'd made it, and Sakura didn't. Sasuke could take comfort in the fact that Naruto was, for the most part, safe and still among them. He took comfort in the knowledge that he would see him that night and every other night for as long as they were both alive – or so he hoped. There was a bit of guilt as well as pity for Sakura. She didn't have any of that reassurance. Her only reassurance was at that grave. A bit of his time to go there with her wasn't much to ask, no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

"Yes. I'll go."

* * *

It had been three months since Sasuke let Naruto get away. He would find his mind returning to his lost friend sometimes, wondering if he had made it, if he was still alive. Naruto had been so badly hurt. Maybe the wound had done Sasuke's job for him. Perhaps he bled to death, alone in the forest with nothing but the moon for company.

The silent moon that knew too many of his secrets.

Sasuke found he had become just like the moon. He was like the moon for reasons beyond anything physical the way poets enjoyed writing about. Like the moon, he was shrouded in darkness. No matter how one looked at it, he didn't live a very happy life. He lived the life of a hunter, of a murderer. It didn't matter that he didn't participate in burning the bodies until nothing remained, he still helped catch them. He still killed them. He couldn't watch them be burned though, too afraid he'd see Naruto thrown in there. Not only was he afraid, but he was sickened.

What would the village do if they knew he had let one of them escape. What would his _father_ do?

Three more full moons had passed. Sasuke had already went out and proved that he could kill one in the forest on his own and since then he'd been going into the forest with the other hunters to kill. Each time he killed one, however, that feeling of dread would gather in his chest and spread through his body. Each time one turned back into its human form, he searched for that blonde hair, those blue eyes and tan skin. He'd imagine blue eyes looking up at him as if he were a traitor, with blood caked in his messy hair and body torn to shreds.

"_You let me live, only so you could kill me later? Did you enjoy the hunt, you bastard? Do you enjoy the sight of my blood?"_

On nights when Sasuke apparently wanted to torture himself, he imagined Naruto saying those words, or words similar to that. Those blue eyes haunted him, in ways that were far from pleasant. In fact, he hated it. Sometimes he wanted nothing more than to just find Naruto's body laying dead somewhere, just so he could grieve and move on, just so he wouldn't have to be so uncertain and feel that crippling fear. But at the same time, he didn't want to ever come across his body. He didn't want to think that Naruto had died alone, especially while being in an extreme amount of pain.

Naruto's pain was worse than his fear.

After a day of hiding behind a blanket of clouds, the sun set, ready for sleep. For the first time in awhile, Sasuke did the same. Since Naruto's disappearance, he hadn't been able to sleep well. Night terrors haunted his mind and he often found himself waking with a start, covered in cold sweat and sometimes tears. The dreams would echo and refused to leave him alone for hours after, sometimes even days. This night though, something different woke him. A noise. Something closing? It startled him awake. He shot up in bed, heart pounding as he looked for the source.

It didn't take long for him to see.

"Naruto," he gasped, almost unable to believe his eyes.

His friend was crouched down by his window, having used that to get in. His eyes, which were the same but different somehow, looked up to find his. Slowly, as if about to approach some skittish animal, he stood up to his full height. Sasuke couldn't help but note that he had grown much since he'd last saw him. Before he was shorter, now he was no doubt taller. He also looked more muscular. Not freakishly so, but enough to notice. He didn't quite look like an adult yet, but he also didn't look like the thirteen year old he was. Idly, he wondered if that was a side effect from the transformation.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke whispered harshly. "I told you to _never_ come back."

Normally, Naruto would react by saying something along the lines of, "when have I ever listened to you?" but he just continued staring at him. Moving so the moonlight illuminated his face a bit, Sasuke saw scars now marked his face. They looked like whiskers. There were other wounds on him, like bruises and a black eye. It looked like he had just gotten out of a fight. Maybe he had.

The mental image of Naruto constantly fighting for his life now, with no weapons or comrades, made his heart sink. His mind told him to get Naruto out, that it wouldn't be good for either of them if he were caught in his room, but the words got caught in his throat. All because of his stupid heart…

"Surprised?" Naruto's voice, rougher than before, asked in a low tone.

Still choking on the words his mind knew he had to say, but his heart was unable to let pass, Sasuke merely moved his lips soundlessly. It was a look the old Naruto would have poked fun at. But there was nothing funny about the situation they were finding themselves in.

"It's been three months," Sasuke finally forced out, and he had no idea why he even said it.

"What? Did you expect me to come back the next day?"

_Had_ he? Sasuke didn't know. He was so confused. His mind was so muddled he had no idea what he wanted or what to do. Nor did he know what to say. So he said the first thing his mind could come up with.

"You look different. Bigger."

Naruto chuckled without the same level of humor he would have just months before. "Yeah. I guess I hit my growth spurt. Well, that and you'd be surprised how great of a workout running and fighting for your life every day is."

Well…that answered Sasuke's earlier suspicion, and it just made him feel worse. What else did he expect? What exactly was out there in those woods when the full moon wasn't out? Sasuke had no idea. He never wandered too far into the unknown. So instead of commenting on that, or even acknowledging it, he continued to say the first thing on his mind while ignoring his selfish heart.

"You can't stay here."

"I know."

"If they find you..." _They'll kill us both, _he realized. Naruto for being the thing they hunted and Sasuke for being a deceitful traitor.

"They won't find me. I just…" Naruto looked away. With Sasuke's eyes adjusting to the dark, and the moonlight offering a little help, he was able to make out a faint blush on the boy's now scarred cheeks. "I just missed you, I guess."

_I missed you too. I missed you too but…_

"And besides…it's your birthday."

Sasuke blinked. Right. It was probably past midnight now. It was July 23rd. Sasuke was fourteen, slowly edging closer to becoming a man, physically anyway. But he felt so far from being a child. Just in these short three months, he felt aged, he felt drained and tried.

And now…now he wasn't sure what he was feeling, but his heart was doing funny things in his chest at seeing his closest friend again. He didn't have the words to describe how much he missed his presence. It was true. You never really know what they mean to you, until they're no longer with you. Though in Sasuke's case, he still wasn't completely sure. The only thing he was completely sure about was that he didn't want Naruto to leave just yet, no matter what his brain told him.

"So what do you want to do?"

Naruto shrugged, looking down at his feet. "I don't know. I just…wanted to see you."

"Well, you've seen me so…"

"Can I just…say the night? Just for tonight? I don't want to go back out there." Naruto's voice had taken a desperate tone. It was almost impossible to refuse him with that tone. He sounded so lonely and afraid. Sasuke wondered if he had ever found a wolf pack to be with, or if he had just been kicking it alone these past three months. Running alone, fighting alone, howling alone…

Even with the fear of them getting caught, he couldn't deny his request. And besides, Sasuke didn't want him to go back out there to face all of that either.

"Just for tonight," Sasuke agreed, trying to make his voice stern. This couldn't become a nightly habit. It was too risky. Just this one night was too risky. Sasuke should kick him out. Shove him right out of that window and go back to sleep, pretending he never saw him. But he couldn't. He just couldn't. He couldn't kick his own feelings out of the window and pretend they didn't exist.

He truly was a selfish creature.

When Naruto just continued to stand there, Sasuke sighed and moved closer to the wall, lifting up the sheets.

"Come on."

At the invitation, Naruto started.

"You mean…you're okay being that close to me?"

"You've slept in my bed before, idiot." It was amazing how easily he could revert back to being himself around Naruto. It really was as if nothing had changed. Naruto had always been that one person he could be himself around, without the fear of being judged. It was comfortable. He missed it. Lately he had felt as tightly strung as his bow.

"Yeah, I know. But…" _But_ _I've changed. How can you still want me near you, when I'm one of them?_ The words were unspoken, but lingered in the air.

"Naruto, just…get in." What else was there to say? He couldn't say it would be okay, that nothing had changed, because that would be a total lie. Everything had changed. Even the way Sasuke felt towards Naruto had changed. Before Naruto was his solace, an escape for him to go to when the pressure of being his father's son was too much to handle. Now he was a secret. Something he had to hide from everyone. More than that, being without him, he was starting to realize just how much he meant to him. It was something he tried not to allow himself, but couldn't stop.

But there were also some things that didn't change… Sasuke didn't hate him. Even though he wasn't human anymore, he didn't think any less of him. He still cared – though a bit more intensely now – and still felt a strange warmth inside in his presence that he couldn't explain.

With a soft smile, Naruto climbed into bed and under the sheets as slowly and quietly as possible. In fact, Sasuke couldn't hear him at all. Not his footsteps or the creaks from his wooden floor…it made him wonder if it was another part of his change as a werewolf. Once he was settled in, Sasuke turned so Naruto was faced with his back, just as always. Being boys, whenever they did sleep in the same bed, they would do so back to back. And they would sleep far enough apart so that they weren't touching in any way.

Naruto, however, didn't seem to want to heed this rule tonight.

Once Sasuke turned, he felt something press against his back.

"…Naruto?"

"I need this," his friend quickly whispered. "I've really missed you. If I can't see you, I at least want to feel that you're really here with me. That I'm not spending another night alone…"

What could Sasuke say to that? How could he deny Naruto anything?

So Sasuke let Naruto press their backs together, breaking the first barrier between them. It wasn't as strange and awkward as he thought it would be. Naruto's body was as warm as ever. His presence was comfortable, familiar yet different at the same time.

It was the first night Sasuke slept deeply and dreamlessly since Naruto had left.

* * *

Sasuke stood quietly next to Sakura as he looked down at his friend's grave. Since they didn't have a body or even ashes to bury, they instead buried a picture of Naruto that Sasuke had. They had done so in secrecy, while telling the others that they had properly disposed of it as well as everything else they had to remember him. All of Naruto's belongings in his own home, however, had been publicly burned along with anyone else who was wounded and executed.

Sakura said her hellos once they got there, as if Naruto was right there and she was speaking with him. It was as if they were meeting for lunch, which Sasuke could never understand. But then, he didn't have any graves to speak to. He knew Naruto was alive and safe, so there was no point in talking to his grave as if he could hear from the afterlife or whatever, but if it comforted Sakura, then by all means. He'd let her rant away.

She spoke about how everyone was doing, who was alive and who had died since the last time. She told him she and Sasuke were still alive and well while he stood there silent and still. He let his own mind wander as she spoke to the 'dead'. He hoped Naruto wouldn't join a pack like he suggested earlier in his room. He hadn't lied. If Naruto did, he might be forced to kill him. Not on purpose, of course, but how could he tell which one was Naruto? And he knew that if he wasn't chained up on those nights he could very possibly hurt Sasuke too, right? Did he not care anymore? Was he tired of the sneaking around, or was it no longer enough?

Sasuke felt Sakura place her hand on his and was quickly pulled out of his thoughts.

"Do you think that, if there is a heaven, that…they go there too?" she whispered, her voice thick as she was no doubt remembering all of the good times – the times when Naruto used to pull at her hair because he had a crush on her, the time she rejected him more times than she could count, the time she caught him peeping on her in the bath…the time when she finally realized he was probably one of the most compassionate people the world had to offer. When she realized he would always be there for her as a friend and give her a shoulder to cry on. When she realized he had wormed his way into her heart. Not in a romantic way, but he still got in there regardless.

Sasuke had been jealous at first. He was so used to being Naruto's number one and felt a little threatened by her. He remembered being worried she'd steal him away. But days passed, Naruto's crush faded and Sasuke was still the first person he came to. He was still the person who got to see all of his different sides – not just his cheerful side – and got to listen to all of his thoughts and opinions, even the ones he thought were too dangerous to utter aloud.

"If anyone here deserves to go there, it's him," she continued, knowing Sasuke wouldn't answer. He never spoke when they were there. He was too afraid he might give something away.

Sakura could never know the truth; it was something he constantly told himself so that he wouldn't slip. He couldn't tell her of Naruto, nor of his relationship with Naruto. It could end in tragedy if he did. The risk was too great to take and so he pressed his lips together and breathed deeply through his nose. When he finally did part his lips to speak, it wasn't a confession or the truth that could set him free or get him killed. It was simply…

"Let's go back before they start wondering where we are."

There were so many things he was taking to the grave.


	3. All the small things

**Title: **In the Still of the Night

**Chapter 3: **All the small things

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Rating: **NC-17/R

**Feedback: **Thank you to those who reviewed! I appreciate it. :)

**Author Notes: **This chapter starts off where the last chapter's flashback ended. This chapter will be focusing more on Naruto and his side of things since we already focused a tad on Sasuke. ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters nor the fandom.

**~*NS*~**

Naruto watched Sasuke sleep, not wanting to leave. It was so lonely and terrifying out there in the woods. He was a lone wolf out there, literally, so seeing Sasuke felt good. He had missed him so much. He missed having someone around and he longed for some form of human contact. So when Sasuke fell into a deep sleep, Naruto slowly turned around to watch him. He found himself studying the other boy's features and engraving them into his mind. He didn't want to forget anything. When he was out there, when he was sure he was going to die alone, he forgot Sasuke. He forgot everyone and everything. His instincts kept kicking in and all he could think about was survival.

It was far from pleasant.

It wasn't until after he was safe, momentarily, that he realized he hadn't thought about home once in…however many days he had been gone. All he had been thinking was 'run, run, run' and 'hide, hide, hide'. And then he sat, huddled up behind a bush and leaning against a tree, trying to remember Sasuke, trying to picture his face.

He could remember it but…there were some things that were blurry. There were things that he hadn't really paid all that much attention to. How tall was he _exactly_? How much did he weigh? How soft and pale was his skin? How thick were his eyebrows and hair? What did it feel like to run your hand up the back of his head with those spikes, were they soft or would they prickle at his skin?

They were simple questions that normally wouldn't haunt someone, but it bothered Naruto. It bothered him now that Sasuke was gone and no longer at his side, like he had been before.

He tried to remember the others too. Sakura and the few other friends he had gained. But they were even blurrier than Sasuke. It sort of bothered him, but not as much.

Why?

Lightly, Naruto touched Sasuke's hair, running his fingers through the locks. His hair was pretty thick, but also soft and smooth. His eyebrows weren't really very thick, rather thin for a boy actually. Continuing with his light touches, Naruto dragged his finger from his hair, down his forehead and then his nose, which was straight and narrow. Then lower, over his full lips which he traced with his thumb. He traced the lower lip twice. It felt nice against the rough pad of his thumb. They were soft, though a bit chapped too.

As he traced his bottom lip for the second time, Sasuke's tongue came out and lightly licked it, also touching Naruto's thumb in the process. Blue eyes locked on the pink muscle. When it disappeared back into his mouth, Naruto swallowed thickly, and then let his hand fall back to the bed before he got in trouble. But his hands began itching, wanting to reach out and touch more. It confused him.

He should leave. Day would break soon and he couldn't be found there. Even though a part of him wanted nothing more than to hide in Sasuke's closet and never leave, he couldn't.

Slowly and carefully, he slipped off of the bed. He stretched his limbs before going back to the window, his footsteps light and silent. Just as he was about to climb through, he heard a ruffle of sheets. The movement was louder than he ever remembered, but his senses were heightened now. It served as a reminder that things weren't the same. That _he_ wasn't the same.

When he looked back, he saw Sasuke slowly sitting up. He yawned before looking for the source that woke him from his peaceful slumber – no matter how silent Naruto's footsteps were, opening the window made noise. Naruto wondered if Sasuke ever slept peacefully and deeply, where he wouldn't wake up to slight noises. Then Naruto wondered if he, himself, ever did…since he'd left, he couldn't remember ever being able to sleep okay. He was always on guard. He always had to be. It also sucked that he no longer had something soft to lie on.

"Naruto?" Sasuke sounded confused for a split second, then he seemed to remember the situation. He looked at the open window and then back at him.

"You're leaving."

It wasn't a question, but Naruto answered it anyway. "Yeah. I should go now, before they start waking up."

"Yes. You should…" Sasuke looked like he wanted to say more, so Naruto waited. "Where…do you go?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but was unsure of what to say.

_Wherever it's safe?_

No. That was a lie. And Naruto couldn't lie to Sasuke. Literally. He couldn't count the many times his friend called him out for it. And Sasuke wouldn't appreciate being lied to. Not now.

And it really _was_ a lie. Nowhere was safe in that forest. There were a few good hiding spots that he could nap in, but they were short lived. An hour…maybe two? There were wild animals to watch out for, as well as poisonous insects and snakes and other things he wasn't even familiar with. He also wasn't sure what was okay to eat. It took him three or four days before he was hungry enough to try just about anything. He ate a few berries but those weren't even close to being satisfying. He craved meat. He was lucky to find a deer, though he also had a newfound taste for rabbits.

Then there was the weather. Shelter was hard to find and make when a storm hit. It was lucky for him that his immune system had strengthened otherwise he might have died simply from illness. The mosquitoes sucked too. He was attacked by them in his sleep a few times. It had his arms and legs itching for days. And when he had an itch he couldn't reach…that nearly drove him insane. He spent a lot of time rubbing his back along the trees, not caring if the bark scratched at his skin so long as it got the itch.

It was amazing how simply not having someone around to scratch his back made him long for someone's company even more. There were so many times that it hit him how alone he was. Some small and silly like having someone around to scratch his back for him, and others more significant.

"Wherever my feet take me," he finally answered, thinking it was the safest one.

Sasuke understood though, those dark eyes told him so.

Naruto wondered if Sasuke regretted letting him live. Maybe he thought it would have been more merciful to have just killed him. Maybe he was considering killing him now. Maybe Sasuke would follow him into the forest and shoot him dead as soon as they were a safe distance from the village and then burn his body out of existence.

But Sasuke didn't show signs of any of that. Instead he said, "You can sleep here at night, if you have nowhere else."

Naruto just stood there in shock. Did he hear him right? He couldn't have. Sasuke wouldn't risk something like that. He wasn't stupid. Not like him. He was the one who ran off on his own and attempted to kill a werewolf, one that just ended up getting away, and getting hurt in the process. No. He stayed where he was assigned and guarded that area. If Naruto had just stayed where he was supposed to, an area not too far from Sasuke, instead of chasing one in an urge to be a hero, all of this might not have happened.

But it did happen. And now he just had to find a way to live with it and himself.

"You would let me stay?"

"Just at night," Sasuke quickly added. "And you have to wait until late. And you have to leave early."

"But I can come back?"

Sasuke's shoulders, which looked tense and hunched a bit, relaxed.

"Yes. Now go."

* * *

If there was one thing Naruto hated, it was being stuck in his hole during the day. The chains and shackles were pushed to the side to be used on specific nights. If Naruto were like the old pervert who raised him, he would consider using those chains for something more pleasurable, but no. There was nothing pleasurable about those chains. Truth be told, Naruto loathed being chained up, unable to move his arms and legs, no matter how necessary it was.

After all, it wasn't as if he could control himself on those nights. It was because of that very fact that he had allowed Sasuke to chain him up to begin with.

Speaking of Sasuke, he wondered what he was doing.

It seemed like all Naruto had to do during the day was think about him. That damn bastard wouldn't let his mind rest and plagued his every thought. It was almost cruel, because in reality they really didn't spend all that much time together. They could only see each other at night and if they weren't making love, they were arguing or sleeping. There were, however, nights when Sasuke would talk to him or just listen to him and they would lay there, comfortable and happy in the other's presence. He treasured those moments most. But Naruto was restless and Sasuke was stressed. Those moments lessened and currently they seemed to argue more than anything. Naruto would start an argument and Sasuke would sigh, rub his temples and tell him to drop it or get irritated and argue back. It was after, when Naruto was alone again, that fear gripped him.

How long could things go on this way?

He'd rather have Sasuke in whatever way he could, for however long he could, than to not have him at all. The very thought of Sasuke being torn out of his life terrified him. He dreaded the nights of the full moon. He was afraid that Sasuke wouldn't come the next morning to unshackle him. He wasn't sure which would be more painful. Losing Sasuke or starving to death down in his little hole. Probably the former, his heart was convinced of that. Death would be a sweet release from the unbearable heartache he would be sure to face.

He wished he could be out there with Sasuke on the nights of the full moon, but knew that was impossible. He couldn't even remember those nights. It was like he simply blacked out. He remembered parts of the transformation. The pain of having his bones rearrange beneath the skin, his flesh stretching and burning, and then he was engulfed in a dark abyss where he felt and thought nothing.

Sighing, he picked at the deer meat Sasuke had brought for him. It was from the Nara family's deer and Naruto wondered what Sasuke told them. If he just said it was for himself or if he paid them extra so they wouldn't ask questions. After Sasuke found out Naruto had a taste for deer, he kept bringing some. Naruto knew it was Sasuke's way of trying to make living out in the forest easier, so he wouldn't have to hunt as much, but he still felt restless. He had to get up and do _something_. So he threw the last bit of the meat in his mouth and climbed out of his little safe cage, as he liked to call it. It was someplace safe for him to hide, but it felt like he was a caged animal.

He couldn't help but remember when Sasuke had first shown it to him.

* * *

Nights had passed since Naruto and Sasuke's first night together. Few words were shared, their backs touched but that was the only physical contact Sasuke consciously allowed. However, Naruto was having a hard time keeping his hands to himself. He was noticing things he had never noticed about Sasuke before. Like how despite having muscle due to training and fighting, his skin was still smooth and soft – and also very light, so different from his unusual sun kissed skin. In fact, the more he observed the more he realized that they were really opposites in every way, shape, and form. Internally and externally, they were opposites, and Naruto found that he preferred it that way.

Sasuke was everything he wasn't and vice versa. He was embarrassed for himself at how cliché his next thought was, but it really did feel as if the other boy completed him in some way. That thought and belief mixed with the rush of male hormones he was getting from puberty had him seeing Sasuke in a different light, as something other than just a close friend. It was confusing and he didn't know what to say or do about it. What would Sasuke say or do? He didn't know and it was one of the things stopping him from acting on his newfound feelings that seemed to grow with each passing day. He had always known Sasuke was important to him. When he was a kid and first saw him, he knew he had to have him in his life somehow, but he was sure it would be just as a friend. Now he wanted more, but was too afraid to ask for it.

There was another reason why he longed for physical contact. While his…infatuation was the main reason, he believed, he also just wanted some form of human contact in general. Sasuke was the only person he had been around since his departure and he was lonely. He didn't realize how simple touches were so significant until after he lost everything. Simply walking next to someone, sitting next to someone, brushing arms, receiving hugs and holding hands, these were all of the things he missed. Now he was longing for more contact, but wasn't sure how much he could ask or expect from Sasuke.

And so he was left with a longing that ate away at him. The only thing that seemed to ease it was being close to Sasuke, but that was becoming more difficult. He wanted more than just pressing against his back or being next to him. He wanted more touches, and not at all just in a friendly way.

"Stop that."

Naruto was pulled out of his internal teenage angst at the sound of the object of his…_everything_ spoke. They were both lying on their backs on Sasuke's bed; neither of them could sleep. It was the night after the full moon and Naruto was a bit hesitant in coming back. He wasn't sure if he could handle it if Sasuke weren't still there…or if he was. After all, people died on that night. They were killed by…creatures like him. Had he killed anyone? He didn't know. He couldn't remember and perhaps it was better that way.

But he feared what Sasuke would do or say after that night. Would he shun him, his mind freshly filled with memories of the beast he now was? Or would he ask him questions in which he had no answers? But Sasuke was still there, and he hadn't done any of that. He watched Naruto crawl in through the window and said nothing as the blonde went to lie next to him.

"What?"

"You're staring at me again," Sasuke mumbled. "It's creepy."

Naruto didn't stop the grin. "What? Are you afraid of me now? Heh, scaredy cat."

"I'm not scared of you."

"Whatever you say."

Silence passed over them again, though it wasn't uncomfortable. Naruto could feel Sasuke's hand against his. He wasn't holding it, but in Sasuke's bed they were forced to be close. It wasn't a small bed, but it also wasn't exactly big either, and so the back of their hands touched. It was a light and simple touch but it still made Naruto's heart swell.

He didn't want to ever leave Sasuke's side again, but he would have to in just a few short hours.

"When you leave to go back into the forest, I'm going with you."

That caught Naruto by surprise. "Oh?"

"I have something to show you."

That perked Naruto's interest. Sasuke rarely ever showed Naruto things, or gave him presents – minus the things he got on his birthday. They laid in there in silence after that. Who knew what Sasuke was thinking, but he seemed lost in his own mind. He didn't even notice when Naruto was staring at him again.

They weren't going to get any sleep that night. It seemed almost pointless for them to wait any longer, so they left earlier than Naruto usually did. It was a silent walk. Whatever Sasuke was thinking about, it kept his attention. It made Naruto more curious as to what he was going to see and where they were going.

Once they were deep into the forest, where they was a clearing surrounded by trees, Sasuke stopped, so abruptly Naruto almost ran right into him.

"We're here," was all he said.

"Here?" Naruto looked around in bewilderment. There was nothing there, nothing but trees. "Where's here? What do you want to show me?"

Sasuke took a few seconds to kick at some leaves. Naruto, his eyes naturally more accustomed to seeing in the dark since his transformation, saw what Sasuke was trying to show him.

"A hideout?"

"I have something to show you inside."

For some reason, Naruto didn't like Sasuke's tone. It made his entire body stiffen. His friend sounded closed off and distant. One could even say he sounded cold. Sasuke had put his mask on. He rarely did when in Naruto's presence and it always made him uneasy. It usually meant Sasuke was about to say or do something he wasn't going to like.

"What's inside?"

"Look."

Hesitantly, Naruto bent down and lifted the hatch. Without another word, he climbed into the hole. His night vision saw everything so clearly it hurt.

Despite there being more down there, all Naruto could see were the chains and shackles.

His mind and body automatically went into an alert stage. He quickly turned around only to have his path blocked by Sasuke.

"What the hell is this?" he growled, feeling a little betrayed. "Are you planning on keeping me down here or something? You can't kill me, so you're going to put me in jail?"

"It's not like that. Just…listen-"

"No!" Naruto stepped back, away from Sasuke who was starting to look alarmed, but not guilty. "I'm human," he continued weakly. "I'm not going to let you cage me up like some diseased animal that needs to be contained!"

"Naruto, just calm down and listen to me. This is for the –"

"I don't want to hear it!" Naruto shouted and then continued in a mantra. "I'm human. I'm human. I'm _human_!" And with that, he shoved Sasuke out of the way and quickly got out of the hole, as if escaping a fire.

"_Naruto_!"

He ignored Sasuke's calls, running until his muscles were sore, miles away.

_I'm human._

* * *

Naruto was brought out of his reminiscing when he heard a loud snap. It was just a stick snapping beneath someone's weight, but to his overly sensitive ears, it was loud enough. His head jerked up to see two others. One had short, messy brown hair, tan skin and sharp, dark eyes with strange red tribal markings under them. The one with him was a woman with long dark hair and gentle lavender eyes that were almost ghostly – just as her skin was.

He recognized them immediately.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't your master have you on a leash outside his door?" the brunette mocked, as he always did.

"Kiba," Naruto growled.

Kiba was the alpha male of a pack of werewolves that went in and out of the area. Naruto had no idea if Sasuke and his village – yes, Sasuke's village. It wasn't his anymore. Hadn't been for years – had ever tangled with them but it was doubtful. Kiba would be much more vengeful if it were true. The one at his side was more tolerable, mostly because she was so quiet – Naruto found it almost creepy – that it was hard to be annoyed by her presence. The only downside to her at all was that she was Kiba's mate and therefore the alpha female of the pack. Despite her gentle and harmless appearance, she was not one to be toyed with. These wolves were different from the others Naruto had seen. They harnessed their strengths even when it wasn't the full moon. As for what they did when that night arrived…Naruto had no idea.

"Aww, what's wrong puppy? Did your master abandon you again?"

"Sasuke never abandoned me!" Naruto shouted in his defense. "You don't know what you're talking about, as usual, so just shut up!"

Kiba smirked, then glanced down at Naruto's wrist and narrowed his eyes. "Right. He just chains you up like a caged mutt."

Naruto looked down at his wrists and noticed they were still bruised from the shackles. They were fading, but not quickly enough. It was strange, Naruto thought. The less severe the wound, the longer it took to heal. Bruises weren't life threatening and tended to take a bit more time. Not as long as it would a human, but it would take two or three days before they were completely gone.

Kiba moved forward, closer to him, but Naruto refused to step back. He wasn't afraid of Kiba. He was nothing but a loud mouthed brat with too big an ego. If he tried anything, Naruto would make him regret it. He wasn't another submissive pup that would bow his head to such a beast. Who knew how many humans Kiba and his monster pack had killed? Even Hinata, who looked so innocent, was probably stained in blood, perhaps even drenched in it.

"Why not forget your human and join my pack?" Kiba tempted. "Do so and I can make it so you wouldn't even have a need to be shackled."

"Why? So I can go around like a lunatic on nights where I can't control myself? No thanks."

"Didn't you hear me? I can teach you how to control it. Or did you not pick up on that? Are you as brain dead as you look?"

Kiba's taunts were ignored; Naruto was too caught on what he had said about control.

"Wh-what do you mean control? There's no way to control it!"

Kiba's cocky smirk made him not so sure.

"Yeah. We thought that too, for a long time. But I found a way. And then I gathered others and taught them and now here we are. A pack as close knit as a family and I'm inviting you in. All you have to do is drop your ties with that human."

The offer was tempting, so tempting it hurt, up until he gave that one condition.

"I can't." Give up his bond with Sasuke? He couldn't do that. He couldn't drop him out of his life.

"I know you think of him as your mate-"

"Lover," Naruto corrected him, insistent on using a more human term.

The other paused for a minute, wrinkling his nose. "Right… I know you're involved with him. I can smell him all over you whenever I see you or catch wind of your scent."

It was true. Naruto knew it to be true. He liked being covered in Sasuke's scent. It was a comfort for when he wasn't at his side. Sasuke didn't often keep Naruto's smell, bathing with soap and covering himself with other scents. Naruto would always wait to rinse himself just before he went to see Sasuke again. He kept Sasuke's scent on him during the day and smelled fresh when he went to visit him at night.

"But think of what giving him up will grant you in return."

"And what is that?"

"Freedom," Kiba sighed the word. It was as if he himself knew what it felt like to be caged and then released. "And a family. So you're not spending your days wandering alone like some lost puppy until night comes, when you can spend just a few hours sleeping with someone."

Naruto didn't like the way he worded that. It made his time with Sasuke sound so insignificant when it was the most significant thing he had to hold onto.

"Just think about it," Kiba said as he turned back to Hinata. He nuzzled her cheek and gave her earlobe a playful nip before they turned in the other direction and walked away. Naruto watched their backs until they faded from his sight completely. His fingers itched for something, to do something, but he had no idea what. His throat felt closed, keeping the words inside, even though he had no idea what he wanted to say.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he remembered Sasuke. His beautiful Sasuke who was so proud and strong, who he had always gone to for everything whether they were fighting or not.

* * *

Naruto couldn't think of anything but the red liquid he had spent a good hour or two washing from himself as he ran through the forest. In his haste, he was careless. He was lucky no one saw him as he went to Sasuke's house and climbed through his window. Since he wasn't all that silent about his entrance, he woke Sasuke up with a start. The other had his hand under his pillow as he quickly rose to a sitting position, no doubt reaching for a weapon, probably a knife to stick in his heart.

Not that Naruto didn't deserve it.

"Naruto?" Sasuke squinted in the dark. "What are you doing here? And why are you being so loud?" He quickly and quietly got up from his bed to the door of his room. His feet moved so swiftly across the wood, if Naruto wasn't so distracted he might have wondered how he did so without making the floor creak. But he just stood there, staring at his hands with wide eyes as Sasuke pressed his ear against the door, listening…

"Sasuke…"

"You're lucky you didn't wake Itachi and my father. If they saw you, we'd both be dead," Sasuke hissed.

"Sasuke…"

"And where have you been? It's been a month since I've last seen you-"

"_Sasuke_," Naruto said sharply, a desperate note in his voice. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Last night was the full moon," Sasuke said in a monotone voice. "Where were you?"

"I…"

"What did you _do_?"

Naruto's hands shook.

"I don't know_. I don't know_."

He fell to his knees with a thump so loud both he and Sasuke winced.

After a few seconds of silence, Sasuke quietly moved across the floor and went down to his knees – more gracefully than Naruto – and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"It's okay," he said awkwardly, obviously not knowing what else to say.

"No…no it's not okay. I…I woke up covered in blood this morning." Blue eyes darted across the room, and then to the other side, not knowing where to look. He only knew that he couldn't look at Sasuke. He knew Sasuke was looking at his hands, his arms, at the red skin. He had scrubbed at it so harshly he was sure a layer or two of his own skin came off.

"Why didn't you come to me on the night beforehand? I could have helped you." The hand on his shoulder moved to his chin to force his head up.

"How? By chaining me up?"

"It's the only way," Sasuke huffed and ran his free hand through his hair in frustration. "Can't you see that? Do you want to wake up in blood after every full moon? Naruto…" Sasuke closed his eyes and when he opened them, he narrowed them at Naruto and his face became so serious that it frightened him."If you continue the way you are, I really will have to kill you." Naruto stiffened, but it wasn't until Sasuke continued that Naruto became filled with dread. "What if the blood on your hands is mine? I might not be here the next time you freak out."

At those words, horrible mental images attacked his mind – images of Sasuke's body, torn apart from his claws, lying near him when he woke up. His mind devoid of memories of what he'd done, but the evidence as clear as day in front of him.

"It's for the best."

That was all that was said on that subject. It must have been clear on Naruto's face that he'd given in. But the question kept repeating in his mind, and then moved onto his tongue.

"I'm human. I'm still human…right, Sasuke? Even though I'm not the same, I'm still Naruto, right?"

"…Yes."

The answer was hesitant and did little to soothe Naruto. He was about to get up and leave, not knowing where to go but needing _something_. But before the thought had time to finish, the hand on his jaw moved to the back of his head. He was pulled forward until his forehead rested against Sasuke's shoulder. It was…comforting. The contact wasn't much, but it was the most he'd ever gotten from Sasuke.

Still, it was all he could do to hold back from grabbing him and pulling him into an embrace.

…_He smells nice…_

"It'll be okay. You may not have even killed a person. It could have just been an animal," he said in a softer tone, more assured this time. It helped Naruto calm down too. If Sasuke was confident it was going to be okay, then maybe it would be. His friend hadn't been wrong before. Why would he be now?

Even though they were both drained from the activities of the previous night, they stayed there like that until morning. Sasuke's fingers began playing with Naruto's hair and Naruto took comfort in his friend's touch and scent.

They both pretended not to notice how Naruto inched his body closer until they were practically embracing. Naruto let out a soft sigh at the contact.

It didn't change the facts though. Naruto had killed someone, human or not. On the next full moon, he would be shackled. Everyone and everything would be safe from him. Sasuke would be safe from him. The very idea that he could be dangerous to Sasuke seemed so ludicrous, but he couldn't ignore the possibility. It tore at something inside of him. He knew then that he was still Naruto, and Naruto would never allow Sasuke to be killed, not by anyone, not even himself. He still didn't like the idea of being caged up, but it was the only solution to a situation he didn't wish to be in.

But until that time came, he would allow himself a few hours of warmth and security in Sasuke's presence and hope that he could continue to do so after the next full moon as well.


	4. The scent of a lover

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 4: **The scent of a lover

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Rating: **NC-17

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **The next full moon in the present time is coming up and I'm excited to write for that. :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

No matter how hard he tried to discard the memory, Naruto couldn't get Kiba's offer out of his mind. It was pointless though, since he already knew his answer. The answer was no. He couldn't leave Sasuke and if he went with Kiba, he would have no choice. Even if he somehow managed to talk Sasuke into letting Naruto change him, he'd still have to let go. Naruto knew enough about wolf packs to know that only the leader got to keep a mate. Kiba and Hinata would be the only ones allowed to mate in that pack.

The idea of leaving Sasuke left a bitter taste in his mouth. He waited eagerly for the sun blanked in clouds was replaced by the moon so he could see him. He spent the rest of the day walking through the forest, just pacing and waiting. By the time he got close to the village the sun was completely gone.

When he got into the village, sticking to the tree lines and hiding in spots he'd memorized to avoid being seen by the village lookout, he took the familiar path to Sasuke's window. Once he was close enough, he was surprised when it opened for him and a hand shot out to drag him inside. By the time his head had caught up with him, persistent lips were already pressing against his. Naruto let himself be lowered to the ground until he was sitting, leaning back against the wooden wall. Sasuke immediately followed, straddling his lap and pressing their bodies tightly together. A growling groan rumbled deeply in Naruto's chest as he wrapped his arms around Sasuke, squeezing him closer.

When they broke apart for air, Naruto breathed, "Not that I'm complaining about the way you're greeting me," he broke off when Sasuke's mouth began kissing and nipping at his neck. "Nnnh, but what's this about? You're, ah, not usually this affectionate or forward unless something's wrong." He couldn't speak let alone think anymore after that. Sasuke's hands were on his chest, one playing with his nipple through his shirt and the other just rubbing his pectoral muscle. Unable to help himself, Naruto arched into the touch. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it when Sasuke took control.

Sasuke's caresses slowed and his lips stilled, his face still pressed against Naruto's neck.

"I went to your grave today...with Sakura..."

"Oh." Naruto's own heart sank at the quiet confession. His hands moved up to rub soothing circles on Sasuke's back. He knew about the grave. At first he wasn't sure how he felt about it and then decided it didn't matter. It wasn't as if he was ever going to see it himself anyway.

"I hate going there."

"I know."

"When I came home to take a nap, I had those dreams again."

Naruto didn't have to ask which dreams he was referring to. Often Sasuke had dreams of Naruto dying, already dead, watching him die or killing Naruto himself. They were terrible nightmares. Some even night terrors, waking him up with a scream, covered in cold sweat and trembling. It didn't help that he woke up in his room alone, with Naruto wherever. Not knowing if he was okay or what he was going through. One thing Naruto liked about Sasuke being in the village was that he always knew where he was and that he was okay. It was only on the nights of the full moon that he put his life on the line. Still, he had the comfort of Sasuke's well being on all of the other days. It was a relief. But Naruto? Sasuke knew he didn't stay locked up all day every day. No way could he manage. He'd drive himself crazy. He had to get out and wander around. Sasuke never spoke of it directly, but Naruto knew he worried.

_Should I tell him about Kiba's offer? Is there even any point to it?_

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, kissing his way up his neck, across his cheek and finding his lips once again.

_There's no need. It's not like I'm considering going anyway. I can't. _

"I get the feeling you don't want to just sleep tonight," Naruto mumbled against his lover's lips. Yes. Lover. Sasuke was his lover. He was human. They were human.

Sasuke's hands left his chest and moved up to grip at his hair.

"I need you tonight. You're alive. I'm alive. Let's be alive together." Sasuke pressed their lips together between every word. "I want to feel your heart pounding beneath my fingers, beating for me."

If only Sasuke knew how true that statement really was.

No more words were shared after that. Just breathless gasps of each other's name as their bodies moved together, bringing them closer.

**~*NS*~**

Naruto reveled at the feeling of being inside of Sasuke. His lover's arms and legs were wrapped around him, pressing their bodies together as he penetrated him. Even though he knew it was probably beyond his control, he marveled at the feel of Sasuke tightening around him. He was getting closer…and the urge was coming back.

The urge that kept getting harder to fight.

He ran his tongue over his sharpened fangs just like any other time. He looked down at Sasuke and he knew his eyes must have looked predatory. Not that Sasuke would notice, with his head thrown back and eyes squeezed shut. It would be so easy. _So_ easy. He dug his sharpened nails into the mattress, needing to grip something.

With a snarl, he thrust deeply into the man he loved, fully sheathing himself in his body. Sasuke's eyes widened before he grabbed Naruto's shoulders, dragging him down and biting his neck to stifle the sounds he couldn't hold back. Naruto couldn't help but be disappointed. He wanted to hear him. He was sick of holding back. It was painful even. He wanted Sasuke in every way. He wanted to see his every reaction, especially to the things Naruto did to him.

_Talk to me, scream for me, breathe for me, live for me, love me…_

"I love you, Sasuke," Naruto breathed into his ear before kissing under it. He inhaled deeply through his nose, taking in Sasuke's addicting scent. His hips jerked as he felt the muscles tighten, both of them coming undone.

Closing his eyes, he rested his body on Sasuke's and let himself enjoy being surrounded by that scent.

* * *

"Don't look like that."

Naruto looked up from the chains at Sasuke. Tonight was the night of the full moon. And for the first time, he was to be bound. It was for the best, he knew. It was better that he be chained up, so that the villagers – and Sasuke – were safe from him. Still, he couldn't say he would enjoy being shackled like some deranged dog.

"I'm not looking like anything," he insisted with a pout.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"What if you were to die out there?" Naruto whispered. "How will I get out?"

Rather than answering, Sasuke merely said, "There, it's done. I'll come back for you after tonight."

Naruto watched Sasuke leave, testing his bindings only to find that they didn't budge. Sighing, he looked at where Sasuke left. Watching Sasuke leave and leaving Sasuke in the mornings was becoming harder and, although he was reluctant to admit it, more painful. He was beginning to feel Sasuke's absence and it was far from pleasant. Hopefully this night would pass quickly and Sasuke would come back before Naruto woke up.

"I'll be waiting…"

**~*NS*~**

The full moon had passed and Naruto had made it through his first night being chained. Yet Sasuke had not come back. Naruto didn't know how long he waited for his best friend, but he was starting to get anxious. He wasn't given much room to move but he still tried. Anything was better than just sitting around doing nothing. He tried to free himself, but Sasuke was smart about how he bound him. There was no getting out unless Sasuke wanted him out.

_What if he died?_

It was a forbidden thought. Or it should have been due to the intense ache that followed. He swallowed thickly, his throat dry. It had to have been more than a day. What was taking him so long? What if he…really did die?

Sasuke had said he would be back the next day, hadn't he? What if something really did happen to him? What if he got scratched or bitten and was executed?

Naruto shot up at the thought, pulling harshly on his bindings and choking and hurting himself in the process, but it didn't matter. If Sasuke was dead, he would soon follow. No one would release him and if someone found him, they'd kill him.

_Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck!_

Fear and anger warred inside of him. He was afraid of losing Sasuke. He had lost him once already though, hadn't he? No. That was different. Even though he was forced to leave, he still knew Sasuke was alive somewhere. Sasuke was all he thought about. Well, survival and food were pretty high up there too but... Sasuke was all he had left. He didn't want to lose him, _couldn't_ lose him.

He was angry at the village – resentful and bitter. He hated them for thinking they had the right to decide who lived and died. Did anyone even try to find out if they could live together in peace? No. Because it was human nature to kill things that they couldn't understand and were afraid of. It was human nature to dismiss anyone who was different. One would think that the werewolves would be the hunters, but instead they were the hunted.

If Sasuke was attacked and infected, he could be burning to death right now. While Naruto was trying to break free of his restraints, Sasuke could be screaming and writhing in the flames as his existence was wiped out from this earth, as if he never existed.

The idea of Sasuke never existing was both painful and ludicrous.

Naruto didn't want to be in that world. It wasn't his world. In his world, Sasuke existed and was the center of everything. Always was.

His inner musings were interrupted when the he heard something move outside and the hatch was opened. He stilled, watching with widened eyes as Sasuke came down with his knee wrapped in bandages. He also took note as to how Sasuke took great care in making sure he didn't bend his knee.

He could smell the dried up blood.

_Is that from a werewolf_, was his first immediate thought.

The thought didn't bring as much of a negative response as he would have expected. In fact, the idea of Sasuke being the same thing as Naruto was…he didn't know. He couldn't grasp it. But he couldn't force himself to find it such a bad thing. After all, if they were both werewolves and banned from the village, then they could finally leave this area completely and venture further into the world. Maybe they could even find a place where they could be happy.

Since when did Sasuke's existence and presence in his life become so important, so _necessary_?

Sure, at the village they had been friends – _best_ friends – but Naruto could still be happy, or at least content, without Sasuke at his side. Now it put him on edge and made him uncomfortable. He seemed to be a constant visitor in Naruto's mind and, lately, his dreams.

"Sorry I couldn't come right away, getting away was harder than I thought," Sasuke mumbled as he knelt down and freed Naruto of his restraints.

Naruto's heart swelled. He was taking in Sasuke's scent. He smelled really good. Had he always smelled so good? Maybe it was because his senses were heightened. He didn't think it was possible for another boy to smell so nice. He had figured it was always the girls. Sakura had smelled nice, he remembered, like flowers. But that was nothing compared to Sasuke's natural scent. He wanted to bury his face in Sasuke's neck and take in his scent, engrave it into his memory. He was becoming overwhelmed with these new feelings for Sasuke.

Before he knew what he was doing, he pressed his lips against Sasuke's. Caught by surprise, Sasuke fell back on his buttocks, hands grabbing at Naruto's shoulders. He didn't kiss him back, but instead stared ahead with wide eyes filled with confusion. Sure, the two had been getting closer – especially physically, holding each other close and facing each other in the bed, no longer sleeping back to back – but the line had never been crossed and the two boys had never talked about it.

When Naruto felt Sasuke push against his shoulders, he let out a small whine of displeasure before letting himself be pushed away. The very fact that Sasuke couldn't push him away with his own strength anymore was something he was still getting used to.

Of course, he wasn't the only one. Sasuke wasn't dealing with a kid who he could wrestle with on equal grounds anymore. He was dealing with someone who was half man, half beast, and that beast part of him was much like a wild animal – dangerous and untamable. It was strange though. He wasn't afraid. Nothing about Naruto made him afraid, not in that way. He knew that despite all of the changes, Naruto would never hurt him – not counting the nights of the full moon. But this…new territory…he didn't know what to feel about that or how to deal with it, especially when it was shoved upon him so abruptly.

"Sasuke…I…"

"I have to get back," Sasuke managed to get out before getting back on his feet. He hissed when he attempted to bend his bandaged knee. Naruto immediately got up to help him, but Sasuke held his hand up, telling him to stay back. If Naruto had wolf ears, they would have been folded back, matted to his hair as he stepped away as Sasuke wished. His fingers itched to reach out to him. It was an urge that wasn't as foreign as he might have felt.

Hadn't Sasuke always been that one person he'd been reaching for?

But Sasuke didn't want to be reached for now, so Naruto watched as his friend maneuvered himself out and through the forest. Silently, he got out as well and continued to watch until Sasuke was out of sight.

* * *

In comparison to his passionate nights with Naruto, or even the lazy ones, the days were so boring. He was so bored just walking around the village with nothing to do. It was days like these that Sasuke wished Naruto was still human and lived with them in the village. But after years without the blonde there during the day as company, Sasuke had gotten used to it. Or at least, he thought he had. It was hard to believe he had Naruto just last night. It was like he was living two different lives. The one he lived in the sun and the one he lived under the moon.

Of course, sometimes he got to sneak out into the forest during the daytime and see him, but if he did so too often people would notice and wonder. That was something neither Sasuke nor Naruto could afford.

He stopped by the white wooden fence that surrounded the village's cows as he saw Sakura approach him from the corner of his eye. Waiting for her, he crossed his arms and leaned back against the fence.

"Hey Sasuke," Sakura greeted with a smile. "Thank you for going to the grave with me yesterday. It's…harder to go alone, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Hey…Sasuke?"

He sighed. Sakura was in a talkative mood. He had to admit, she was probably better at dealing with her emotions than he was, or expressing them anyway. Whenever something was bothering her she would always talk it out with someone, preferably Sasuke. It wasn't that he minded, it was just that he had so much on his own mind, so many of his own thoughts and concerns to sort through.

"Hn," he grunted so she knew he was listening. They'd known each other long enough that he didn't have to worry about her not understanding or getting offended. She was his closest friend after Naruto.

Sakura moved to lean on the wooden fence next to him.

"Do you get nightmares too?"

"What?"

"Every night after we visit his grave, I have these terrible nightmares, and yet it doesn't seem real."

Sasuke turned to face her, but she was looking far off into the distance.

Into the woods.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…it doesn't feel like he's really gone sometimes. It's like he's still out there somewhere. When I think that, I wonder if he's happy out there, or scared, or lonely, or-"

"Sakura, stop it."

Her mouth clicked shut and she looked at him with mournful eyes, but Sasuke had to put an end to her thoughts. The things she was saying and the thoughts she was having…they were dangerous. They weren't safe for her to have, let alone express out loud.

"He's dead, okay? I killed him myself." Sasuke pushed himself from the fence and turned to face her fully. "I shot him again and again with my arrows and then I burned his body to a crisp." He ignored the tears forming. "Thinking those things… What would you even do? What would you do if Naruto was alive and still out there? Huh? I'll tell you. You'd kill him. Because that's what we were raised – what we were _trained_ to do. Even if you didn't kill him, others would, and then you would be killed for being a traitor. He wouldn't be Naruto anymore. He'd be one of them. Not one of us, not the friend we grew up with, not _human_, just a monster."

The words hurt to say, but Sakura couldn't be allowed to continue down her path of thinking.

"I just…"

"You still blame me." It wasn't a question or an accusation, but just a simple fact.

Sakura's silence was enough of a confirmation.

"It's fine. I don't care if you blame me."

"It's just…you didn't let us see the body. How can I accept that he's gone when he just disappeared without a trace like that? Why didn't you burn him in the village like everyone else does?"

"You'd have preferred to watch him burn?"

"No! It just feels like you're hiding something! And I saw-!" She stopped with a gasp, covering her mouth.

"What?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What did you see?"

Looking down with sad eyes, Sakura whispered, "Nothing…forget I said any of that…" She turned back to him, looking torn. "To be honest, I don't want him to be alive. Not as that. I don't want to see anything. Because…I don't know what I'd do if I were to look at those eyes again."

Before Sasuke could question her further on that, his pulse rising, she turned and ran off. His own eyes were wide and he forced himself to stay put and calm down. Turning around, he grabbed the fence until his knuckles turned white, thinking only of…

_What did she see and what does it have to do with Naruto?_

He didn't go to see her too, did he? That _idiot_. It wasn't that he didn't trust Sakura, but something about the look in her eyes made him doubt they'd have a happy reunion.


	5. When nothing adds up

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 5: **When nothing adds up

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Rating: **NC-17

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **This chapter has a flashback that goes waaaaay further back, but it's important to the story so…yeah. ^_^;;

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NS*~**

Preparations were being made. The sound of weapons being sharpened and new ones being made filled the village. Children were being taught where to go and who to stay with while the younger hunters trained so that if a wolf got in, they could protect themselves and each other as best they could. Sasuke idly watched while sharpening his own arrows but he didn't feel the motivation everyone else did, so his movements were more lethargic.

"You've been working on that same arrow for the past hour. I think it's done," Itachi said casually as he walked into the kitchen to get some water.

"Hn." Setting the arrow aside, Sasuke didn't make a move to get a new one.

"Whenever this time comes, you get more withdrawn," his brother continued. "If you remain unsure, you'll begin to hesitate and be killed."

Sasuke looked out of the window and at the village. Despite its flaws and the mistakes, this place was still his home. This life was the only one that he knew. The idea of leaving terrified him. Lately he was beginning to wonder if that was the reason why so many werewolves stuck around in the area. Maybe leaving the only home that they knew scared them out of running. Or maybe he and Naruto weren't so special and people were secretly making love to their partners on every night but the full moon, only they didn't chain them up when that night came and got killed. Though somehow, that seemed unlikely. Sasuke couldn't imagine the people of this village ever wanting to be touched by a werewolf, whether he or she looked human or not.

"Itachi," Sasuke called just as his brother was about to leave the room. "Why does father hate them so much, do you think?"

Itachi sighed. "You know why." And then he was gone.

Sasuke bit his lip, unsure. All he knew was that he wanted to see Naruto now. Would it be too suspicious for him to go out into the woods? Sasuke's mind was racing with questions and he wondered if Naruto could answer them. Of course, his presence would be a nice plus to going as well.

Standing up, he decided to go before thoughts of his past began to blind him.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto looked down at his friend leaning on the hay stack he was sitting on.

"Hn?"

"Do you ever think about your mom?"

His friend straightened and looked back at him with a hard expression. "Why are you bringing that up?"

"It's okay if you do. Sometimes I think of my parents too…"

"They're dead Naruto. Thinking about them is pointless."

"Yeah, but…"

"But _what_?"

"It's just…do you ever think that if things were different here, they'd still be alive?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean!" Naruto huffed and fell on his back with his arms spread out, looking at the ceiling. "I mean, if we didn't kill everyone who was 'infected'. If we had just found another way…"

Sasuke pushed himself up and turned to stare at his friend. "There _is_ no other way." He narrowed his eyes at Naruto looking like a kicked puppy. "The second our parents were wounded they were no longer our parents. They were just monsters who would have killed us too. Questioning it and thinking about it does nothing. Absolutely _nothing_. You should stop thinking about such useless things. You should _especially_ never speak about it. Those are traitorous thoughts and words and you can be punished for them."

Naruto didn't know it then, but Sasuke didn't say those words out of cruelty or anger, but out of concern.

Naruto shot up into a sitting position, glaring as his blood began to boil. "That's another problem I hate! Why should I seal my thoughts off just because it hurts to hear? Don't you think people should talk about this stuff? I mean, we lose loved ones all of the time! We lost our parents! And it's our own fault! If we-!"

Sasuke's hand covered Naruto's big, stupid mouth and forced him on his back as he hovered over him threateningly. "Shut. Up. They died because of those…those _things_! Not because of us!"

Biting Sasuke's hand hard enough to make the boy yelp and pull it away, Naruto snapped back, "They didn't kill anyone! They hurt them but they didn't kill them! Our village did! The people of our village were the ones who burn their bodies until there was nothing left! We're the ones who destroy any evidence of them living in the first place! And _why_ do we even do that? Why do we have to get rid of all of their clothes and jewelry? Why do we have to rid ourselves of all our pictures and memories of them?"

What did he _want_, was all Sasuke could think. What did Naruto want him to say? He didn't think those things, wouldn't allow himself to. So why was Naruto? Why was he questioning things that they weren't allowed to question? Didn't he know he could get into serious trouble by saying all of that?

"If that's how you feel, _fine_," Sasuke said through clenched teeth as he held his bitten hand. Naruto's teeth had punctured the skin. "Just don't talk about it. Don't tell anyone else about these thoughts."

"But-!"

"_Promise_ me!"

Naruto's mouth shut with an audible click. He stared into his best friend's eyes, which so many people found cold and black, but he knew differently. He saw the emotion run though his friends eyes on many occasions, saw them burning with those emotions and with life. He saw them when they were hard and serious and dark, and when they were warm, secretly encouraging, and a light gray.

Yet despite all of that, Naruto saw emotion he had never seen before flicker in those dark eyes and he didn't know what to make of it. It made him swallow and mutter out a displeased, "Fine. I promise," though.

Sighing in relief, Sasuke got off of the hay stack and stood. But before he could get too relaxed, Naruto muttered again. The words were softly spoken but Sasuke could still hear them, and they would never leave his mind.

"I just think it's strange that they were the first victims ever…"

* * *

Their parents were the first victims, that thought ran though his mind as he walked through the forest. Why? Where were the wolves that attacked them? Where did they _come_ from? Sasuke didn't have many memories before his mother passed, but he had zero memories of there being any attacks before that time.

Why his mother? Why Naruto's parents? Why those certain people from the village? Was there a connection or was he reading too much into it? But why would a wolf come into the village and attack people from different parts of the village, ignoring everyone in between?

He put a lid on his thoughts once he got to the hatch and hoped Naruto was still in there. Luckily, he wasn't disappointed. Naruto was lying on the ground, on his back, with his hand on his stomach. The shirt he was wearing was lifted above his hand while his other hand was stretched out to the side. He must have been really tired because he slept with his mouth agape as he snored loudly. Usually he only slept like that when he was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

At least his shirt actually fit him now. He and Naruto were about the same size, with Naruto just a bit bigger. When they were younger and Naruto first changed and hit that growth spurt, he didn't really have anything much to wear. Sasuke ended up sneaking out some of Itachi's clothes.

Sasuke's eyes then trailed over to the shackles he would be putting on Naruto in just a few days. He wondered what it was like, being chained up, knowing that for one night you had no control over yourself. Growing up, Sasuke had never questioned what it was like for the werewolves. To be considerate of a beast was unheard of. But ever since Naruto become one of those 'beasts' he couldn't help but wonder.

Closing his eyes, he pictured his father and mother. He knew it was painful for his father to watch his mother burn. But did his father ever think of how his mother must have felt? How it would feel to be burned alive by your own family and friends, watching them watch you die in agony and not doing a thing to help you?

How could the other villagers do that?

Looking at Naruto, knowing how he felt about him and how much he cared…he knew he couldn't do that. Even if he somehow got to the point to where he had the other tied up and the fire started. Once the reality dawned on him he was sure he'd try to save him. He wouldn't be able to just stand there and watch him suffer like that.

There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Naruto would do the same.

Perhaps it was just that their fear was so strong. Or perhaps it was because they had all already convinced themselves that their loved one was dead. It didn't matter if they were still standing right there in front of them. As far as they were concerned, their loved ones were gone the second they were wounded by a werewolf.

"Mmm…"

Sasuke's attention was brought back to his sleeping lover as he woke up. He didn't open his eyes right away, but instead scratched at his stomach before grumbling incoherently. When he finally crack his eyes open, they immediately went to Sasuke and widened.

"Sasuke!"

He was in front of Sasuke so fast he didn't even have time to blink. Before he knew it, he was being held in an almost bone crushing hug.

"You came to see me today? No one noticed you?"

"I don't think anyone noticed me," he answered against Naruto's shoulder. "I've been thinking."

Nuzzling Sasuke's cheek, he asked, "About me?"

"About something you said when we were younger." He closed his eyes, feeling Naruto's lips press soft kisses down his cheek to his jaw. "About how some things just…don't add up."

Pulling away from him, Naruto looked at Sasuke with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Where did you come from Naruto?" Sasuke asked before he could stop himself.

"What do you mean where did I come from? I came from my mother, from our village…"

"That's not – I meant…"

"You mean where did the werewolves come from." It wasn't a question, but a statement. The hurt flashed across his eyes so quickly Sasuke didn't have time to comfort him or take back his words. Sasuke had treated him as an outsider without meaning to, but his mind was seeking answers. He wanted answers and in his haste didn't think of how to word things best.

"You think that just because I am one now, I suddenly know all there is to know about them?" Naruto stepped back from him and Sasuke immediately missed the warmth. He ran a hand through blonde spikes and sighed harshly. "Damn it Sasuke, I don't know where they came from."

"You don't know anything? I mean…you've never seen other werewolves in the forest?"

At that Naruto stiffened. "What?"

"I mean, we know they're out here. We only ever see them on the nights of the full moon though. Where are they when they're in their human forms? You seriously haven't seen any of them?"

Naruto looked away. "Just drop it Sasuke. Why are you even asking? What, do you want to kill them when they are?"

"I never said anything about killing them!"

"Is that all you came here for? You just come to ask me questions about _them_?"

"There is something else, actually." Sasuke took a step forward and held Naruto's chin, forcing him to look at him. "Sakura might know something. You…haven't gone to see her, have you?"

At that, blue eyes widened in surprise. "Wha – no! I haven't seen her since before I was changed! And how do you know she knows something? Are you sure?"

"She keeps asking questions about it, about _you_." Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's chin and ran it through his hair in frustration. This wasn't going as he planned. He wanted answers and was getting nothing.

"Would it really be so bad if she knew?" Naruto asked in a low voice, looking down. "Maybe we _should_ tell her?"

"No."

"But why not?"

"It's just…you didn't see her. I doubt she'll take it well." The look in Sakura's eyes, the feeling that things wouldn't go well if they met up again… For whatever the reason, Sasuke just didn't feel it was safe to get them together.

"But she helped you make a grave for me! She misses me, you said so yourself!"

"Naruto, just…no. Promise me you won't go near her. _Promise_ me."

And it was just like when they were kids. Naruto's cheeks puffed out as he inhaled deeply through his nose. His eyes narrowed in defiance but then grumbled lowly, "_Fine_. Are you done with your interrogation now?"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. The questions were still echoing in his mind. He couldn't talk to anyone about it in the village. The only person he could share his uncensored thoughts with was Naruto. Everyone else would think he was thinking of betraying the village or being too curious. After all, no one asked questions.

"I just think it's weird that they were the first victims ever…" He opened his eyes to see Naruto watching him wearily. "That's what you said. Do you remember?"

"Yeah. I also remember you yelling at me for thinking those things."

"I know. But that was before…"

"Before I became one of them?" This time Naruto sighed. But he moved closer to Sasuke and loosely wrapped his arms around his waist. Sasuke did the same, inhaling his scent. He had never really paid how Naruto smelt before he changed, unless he smelled really bad. He wondered if his scent changed when he did. He couldn't remember Naruto smelling any different than how he did now. "Let's just drop it, okay Sasuke? It doesn't matter anymore anyway. It's not like anything would change if you knew the answers."

"I know…" Nothing would officially change. He'd still be told to hunt on the nights of the full moon. Naruto would still be a werewolf. His questions were pointless.

"Can we just enjoy the time we have together? We rarely ever get to spend time with each other during the day."

"I know. I can't stay for too long though."

"Okay." Naruto pressed his lips to Sasuke's. The kiss was soft and gentle, something shared between two lovers. It was Naruto's gentle kisses that made him realize he wanted this. He wanted this caring, this kindness, this _love_ directed at him.

He always had.

* * *

Naruto was sure Sasuke was never going to want to see him again after the way he had behaved. He had kissed his best friend and said friend had hauled ass after he did. Naruto didn't go to see Sasuke that night, or the night after that, or the night after that. It had been five days since he'd last seen him and his heart ached deeply. Maybe he should just move on. He could find the other wolves and join a pack or…something. But his heart, his stupid heart and his stupid body, it just wouldn't let him move from his perch on the tree branch. He was facing the village, waiting for Sasuke. He wondered if he would be left to wait until he withered away.

"What's this? You've been sitting there for a long time."

The unfamiliar voice had Naruto looking down at the base of the tree. Some wild haired brunette with marks under his eyes was looking up at him. Naruto's nose flared as he picked up his scent, which smelled different from any human whose scent he'd picked up since changing. Something in his gut turned and he knew what he was looking at.

"You're a…werewolf?"

The boy smirked. "My name's Kiba. What are you doing so close to the human's village?"

It was true. He was as close as he could be to it without actually being seen.

"I'm waiting for someone," he said without hesitation.

"Heh, well you'll be there for a long time if it's a human you're waiting for. Why would you want to wait for a human anyway? I mean, do you have a death wish or something? That village likes to kill our kind, you know."

"Sasuke wouldn't kill me!" Naruto defended. "What about you? What are you doing so close to the village? You better not think about attacking it!" To show how unappreciated that would be, Naruto bared his teeth. He was completely prepared to fight Kiba to keep him away from Sasuke.

"Oh don't get so riled up. I'm only looking for a mate and a pack."

His threat diminishing, Naruto blinked. "A pack? And…a mate? Aren't you too young for that stuff?"

"Yeah right. You know how long finding a mate can take? By the time I actually find one suited for me, I'll be old enough."

"So what are you doing here? You're not going to find many other werewolves around here."

"I picked up your scent and was curious. I mean, I've been picking up your scent in this area for some time now."

"So you came to see me? You're not…thinking about…"

"Oh relax blondie. You're not my type so I'm definitely not looking to have _you_ as a mate. You look too loud and annoying, and just an overall pain in the ass to deal with. I just came because I was curious and it's as simple as that. And I'm a little sorry I came, because what I found is really pathetic. Waiting for a human like some collared puppy…"

"I'm not a dog!"

"Then why are you acting like one? You know what, never mind. I don't even care enough to know. I just came to sate my curiosity because I'm leaving this area. There's nothing good here so I'm out."

"Yeah? Well good riddance!"

Kiba chuckled before stopping to sniff the air. "Ah, looks like your owner's coming. I'll just leave now then."

And just like that, Kiba was gone. But Naruto stopped caring about him the second he picked up Sasuke's scent coming closer to him. He looked down at the path covered in fallen autumn leaves and sure enough, Sasuke came limping.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke would have to be given credit for not jumping or showing he was startled. He most certainly didn't expect Naruto to be waiting for him up in a tree.

"Naruto? What are you doing up there?"

"Um…sitting? Do you want to come up?"

Sasuke looked pointedly at his injured knee.

"Oh, right. …I could carry you."

"_No_." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto, but neither of them missed how his cheeks got warmer. "Just come down here."

Shrugging and grinning, Naruto slid off of the branch and landed on his feet.

"Are you a wolf or a cat?" Sasuke grumbled as he moved to sit by the tree. If Naruto heard him, he ignored it. His eyes were locked on his friend's injured knee.

"So…how did you get that?" he asked while Sasuke sat down and leaned back against the trunk.

"If you're wondering if a werewolf gave me it, the answer is no."

"Well yeah, I kind of figured that out by now." Naruto scratched the back of his neck before plopping down next to him. "I mean, you'd have been kicked out of the village or…"

"I know. I just…fell. I cut my knee on something. I don't know. It was too dark to tell."

"You fell?"

Sasuke looked off to the side, embarrassed. "_Yes_. Now will you drop it?"

"Did you need stitches? Is that why you're not bending it?"

"Yes. Look, Naruto, I know you've got it all figured out by now. You're avoiding talking about…what happened the last time I saw you."

This time it was Naruto who looked away out of embarrassment.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do too. I was going to ignore it too, at first, but now I want to know. Why did you kiss me?"

"You didn't come back!" Naruto shouted, looking back at Sasuke with emotion he couldn't recognize. "I was worried, okay? What if you had died out there? I was just happy to see that you were alive and okay. Well…mostly okay. I wasn't thinking…"

"Do it again."

Naruto blinked, his face turning red as he stared at his friend like he had grown an extra head – or like he told him "just kidding, it was a wolf bite".

Swallowing, he asked, unsure, "You…want me to kiss you again?" A nod was his only response. "Why?"

"I'm just…unsure right now. I was too surprised back there to really know how to…react. I don't know what to think about it. You caught me off guard and I don't know – just _do it_." Sasuke was stumbling over his words. But how could he say, "I just want to know what I feel for you because now I'm confused" without feeling embarrassed? He didn't want to talk about his feelings; he just wanted to figure them out. He wondered if it would feel good kissing Naruto, or if it would feel like, well, kissing your friend.

Naruto hesitated at first, but eventually he shifted closer. The movements were so slow that Sasuke wondered if time itself had slowed down. Naruto was behaving like Sasuke was some skittish animal, like any sudden movements would have him running again.

Then, soft as a feather, their lips touched. Sasuke tried to keep his eyes on Naruto's, but found them fluttering shut as the pressure increased. He kissed Naruto back as he felt the blonde's hand cup his neck. His fingers played with the ends of his hair. Sasuke found his own hands reaching up to Naruto's cheeks, pulling him closer.

There really shouldn't have been anything special about the kiss. Naruto's lips were chapped and dry. Did people lick their lips before kissing someone? Well, Naruto didn't. Their lips stuck together and their noses kept bumping. Naruto's hand on his neck was clammy, probably from him being nervous .

But this was Naruto, someone who he'd known from as young as he could remember. He honestly couldn't give anyone any details of how they met, any cute or funny stories, because he couldn't remember. They'd known each other that long. As far as Sasuke's memory was concerned, Naruto had just always been there. Kissing him made his chest feel warm and his heart beat increase as if he were running a marathon. He was breathing heavily through his nose as he pressed his lips closer.

When they did part, they stared at each other. They were still so close that the tips of their noses touched. Naruto was the first to move, turning his head from side to side and rubbing their noses together. Sasuke almost snorted at how corny he was.

"So?"

"Your lips were dry," was all Sasuke could think to say.

Naruto just chuckled. After licking his lips, he asked, "Again?"

And they shared more kisses under the tree. And that night when Naruto came to see Sasuke, he allowed his friend to spoon him close as they fell asleep together, their hands clasped together as their fingers intertwined.


	6. The Red Moon

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 6: **The Red Moon

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Rating: **NC-17

**Feedback: **Thank you very much to those who gave it! I appreciate your kind words greatly and very much enjoyed reading them.

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **I was very eager to write this chapter even though it was very hard for me. A lot of things happen in it and it really gets the ball rolling :D! Hmm, I feel that I should perhaps say now that this story isn't for people who don't like tragedies. I just realized while writing this and picturing how the rest will go in my head how dark this story may be for some people. So…yeah…you've been warned. If you think you can take it, feel free to carry on. :3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

"I really wish you'd stop looking like that," Sasuke sighed as he shackled a naked Naruto up. "You know this is necessary, and it's not like this is the first time."

"I know, but it's not exactly something you get used to…"

Sasuke didn't say anything to that, simply got up and turned. All Naruto could do was watch him go. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and listened to Sasuke's footsteps until they faded away. He wondered if Kiba was going to change tonight and where he and his pack were. He said he could control his transformations. Was that really true? Was it really possible? Naruto supposed he would never really find out, not when he was a caged dog. Cringing at that thought, he inhaled deeply and tried to keep himself calm.

Maybe that was it. Maybe if he just kept calm and focused, he wouldn't change. Could it really be that easy? He doubted it.

Deciding that any thoughts regarding the transformation were just too depressing, Naruto moved onto thoughts of Sasuke, only to find that that was rather depressing too. He should be out there helping him, or Sasuke should be somewhere safe where the wolves couldn't get to him. Every night he had to black out with the knowledge that Sasuke might not come back the next day. That watching Sasuke chain him up could be his last memory of the man was more than he could bear.

His eyes snapped open when he suddenly heard the hatchet being opened.

Had Sasuke come back?

He was quickly disappointed when the person who came down had wild brown hair and a stupid grin on his face, his scent filling Naruto's nostrils.

"Kiba," he growled warningly. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"Well, well, look at the little doggy chained up by his master," Kiba mocked, completely unfazed by his state of undress. "So how do you feel, knowing that your master is going out to kill our brethren tonight?"

"I have nothing to do with them!"

Kiba raised an eyebrow, but decided against contradicting that. Naruto didn't like what came out of his mouth next any better.

"You know, I think it would be fun. I mean, you let that human do whatever he wants to you, so he must be fun to play with." A sick smirk formed on the man's face. "I think tonight my pack and I will…play with them."

"Don't you _dare_ touch Sasuke!"

Kiba ignored him, chuckling. "I wonder…the wolves they kill are all inexperienced. They're wild dogs running amuck because they have yet to join a real pack, have yet to learn to control themselves. They're confused and lost souls. It's actually rather pitiful, isn't it?"

"Kiba," Naruto growled, sitting with one knee on the ground and his other leg bent, his foot on the ground, ready to pounce.

"I never understood what was so great about that human, that you would deny yourself a life with those of your kind. Whether you like it or not, we _are_ your kind. You're not human anymore kiddo."

"Don't call me that!"

Kiba sighed and shook his head, looking disappointed. "I actually came here to offer you another chance to join my pack, but now that I see you like this, I don't think I want you in my family." He tilted his head up and sniffed the air. "Ah, speak of the devil, they're catching up." Looking back down at Naruto, he smiled in a way that made Naruto feel sick. "They're getting really bored, yanno? They're like a bunch of kids asking for new toys to pass the days playing with and honestly, what kind of a father would I be to deny them some play time?"

"I'm not kidding, Kiba! Stay away from the village! If Sasuke doesn't come back tomorrow, I'll _kill_ you!" Naruto shouted, pulling on his chains.

Kiba snorted, not feeling at all threatened. "I would _love_ to see that. You know, considering you can't even control your transformations. And as for your owner coming back tomorrow…I don't know. I guess it all depends on whether he's as skillful as you give him credit for." Without another word, he was out of Naruto's little prison.

"Kiba! Come back here! _KIBA_!"

**~*NS*~**

By the time Sasuke got back to the village, the sun had set. It was another night to kill, but Sasuke found himself dragging his feet. He didn't want to anymore. With each night passed, he felt himself grow more tired of his lifestyle. It would never be over though, would it? He recalled the heavy smell of blood, death, and burning corpses and held back the urge to vomit for the hundredth time.

"Sasuke, there you are!" a familiar voice called to him. He turned to see Sakura running towards him with her own set of arrows already slung over her shoulder, carrying her bow in hand. Almost all of the hunters preferred long range weapons, less chance for them to get infected. "Where were you? I wanted to find you sooner so that we could… Hey, what's wrong?" Sakura reached up and touched his cheek, looking at him with obvious concern.

"Nothing. I'm just tired of this."

"It's not like we all get some sort of sick pleasure out of this, Sasuke. We do it because we have to, in order to survive."

Sasuke sighed. "Do we?" He honestly couldn't say whether his father did it for pleasure or because it was a necessity anymore. He hated the thought, but it was there, pushing at his consciousness and for him to be aware.

"Look, the moon's showing already." Sakura pointed towards the sky with the same hand that had been on his cheek.

Sasuke tilted his head to look up as well. The moon…wasn't what he expected it to be. It was full, of course, but it was red. It was ironic. He was told once as a child that if the moon was red, the color of blood, it meant that people were going to die that night. Sasuke wanted to shake his head at the twisted feeling in his gut. Of course people were going to die. They died every night when that cursed moon was full.

"It's rather…fitting for tonight, isn't it?" Sakura whispered the words, reaching up to rub her chest. "I can't shake this bad feeling. I've been getting them a lot lately."

Sasuke didn't want to admit that he was getting them too, so he stayed silent.

"Sakura, do you remember that day when you asked me about Naruto?"

"At the grave?"

"Yeah. Why did you bring it up? Did you…you didn't _see_ anything, did you?" He didn't want to mention it, but knew he had to. He worried that talking about it might encourage her to keep thinking about it, but he had to know what spurred her to think about such things in the first place.

Sakura bit her lip and looked to the side. "I thought I did…"

Sasuke grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "What? What did you see?"

"It's just…the first full moon night after Naruto was gone…I thought I saw… There was a werewolf that came into the village and he had…Naruto's eyes…" she looked off to the side again. "No one's ever had eyes like his before, so I thought it might have been him. He went towards the old barn you guys used to always hang around in and I just thought…"

"Did you kill it?" Sasuke quickly asked, hoping that the answer was yes for a change so he could assure himself that Naruto hadn't come.

"No. He got away before we could. I mean, I was just so _shocked_ to see those eyes that I just…froze."

"Sakura, listen to me, that wasn't Naruto. Who knows where all of these things come from. Maybe there's another village out there where people have eyes like Naruto."

"I guess…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You sound doubtful."

"It's just, that's not the only time I saw that werewolf…" Sasuke's hands on her shoulders tightened. "There was another time. It was the last time I saw it and it was…" she looked off to the side. "It was standing over Lee – remember Lee? He died a few months after Naruto left and I saw those blue eyes again on the thing that killed him."

Sasuke did remember. He also remembered the man Gai killing himself soon after. It wasn't common, but it did sometimes happen. Could Lee's murderer have been Naruto though? Sasuke remembered Naruto having woken up in blood that night, the price of not letting Sasuke chain him up. Sasuke had assured him that it was probably an animal that he killed, but now he wasn't so sure. Despite what he told Sakura, Naruto's eyes weren't native. No one else had blue eyes like his. Ino's eyes were blue, but they were much lighter and looked different. Naruto's eyes were unique and the easiest way to pick him out from a crowd, in Sasuke's opinion, and he hadn't ever seen another werewolf with them.

What if Naruto _had_ done it? What if he killed Lee? Naruto and Lee weren't close friends when he was still in the village, but they weren't exactly enemies either. They were…friends. Not close friends, but friends none-the-less. They all were, to some degree. The village was small and they all grew up together like a second family, apart from their blood family.

_It doesn't matter anymore_, Sasuke told himself. He would never tell Naruto about the possibility. Sakura could be wrong. She could have just been seeing things. He also couldn't help but note how she referred to the werewolf as an 'it' and a 'thing'. It made him nervous as to how she'd react if she knew the truth…

Maybe she'd do what he couldn't.

After all, Lee was a close friend to _her_. She had taken his death rather hard and hadn't even spoken to Sasuke for almost two months afterwards.

He was pulled out from his thoughts when Sakura gently grabbed his wrist and looked up at him with desperate eyes.

"Tell me…"

Sasuke didn't need to ask, he knew exactly what she wanted – _needed_ to hear.

"Naruto is dead. I killed him, I burned him, I…" he took a deep breath, the rest got harder to say each time, "I put him out of his misery. I made it so that he wouldn't have to suffer alone."

Sakura took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I believe you."

Sighing in relief, Sasuke let go of her shoulders and stepped back. She looked like she was about to say something more to him, but she was interrupted by a friend calling her name. Looking over with her, Sasuke saw a girl he recognized as Ino run towards them.

Ino had become one of Sakura's closest friends, next to Sasuke. She still reached out to Sasuke continuously, but he had been so unreachable for the first year after Naruto's disappearance. Naturally, she had gotten lonely – lonely enough to patch things up with a childhood friend. Sasuke had to admit, he appreciated it. He just couldn't be there for Sakura in the way that she needed, not while keeping such a secret from her. Anything he said to comfort her was a lie. He couldn't offer her anything genuine – not with words or emotion.

Before Sasuke could greet her, Sakura grabbed and embraced him tightly. Idly, he wondered if she knew all of this but decided to care regardless. But that was just a passing thought most likely born from his fear that she knew he was always lying to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered against his chest.

"Yeah."

She let him go, not bothered that he barely returned the embrace, and turned to meet Ino and leave with her. The hunters always had a partner. Someone who watched your back so your chances of being bitten were less likely. Sasuke's partner was his brother, Itachi, though it had once been Naruto…

Sasuke shook his head, refusing to dwell on that. Itachi was a good partner. He had good aim and was very experienced. He carried a bow and arrows like Sasuke but also had daggers he kept on his belt and a knife in his boot. There was no need for Sasuke to wish for another partner when he already had one. Besides, tomorrow he would see Naruto when all of this was over. He would be held and made love to until all the memories from this night were washed from his memory. All he had to do was make it through the night.

As he gave one last look to the red moon, he began to hear the distinct howls of werewolves coming from the forest and knew it was time. Taking a deep breath, he went to go seek out Itachi.

He couldn't shake a foreboding feeling about that night…

**~*NS*~**

Naruto tried using his sharp nails to pick at the lock but wasn't having too much luck with that. Growling in frustration, he pulled on his chain, hoping that it was worn enough to break. Sasuke wasn't happy with the condition of the chain, but didn't have time to replace it.

"_It'll have to do for tonight. I'll replace it as soon as I can,"_ he had said.

Looking hopefully at the rust, Naruto got on his feet and charged towards where the exit was. He let out a short yelp when the shackle around his ankle dug into his skin but kept pulling. He couldn't let Kiba and his pack near the village. Maybe enough time had passed? Maybe if he stayed really focused he could retain some level of consciousness, enough to go after Kiba and his pack alone.

_I have a bad feeling. I'm not sure Sasuke and the village can handle a whole pack that has been hunting together for who knows how long!_

Falling on his hands and knees, Naruto pulled and crawled and clawed at the dirt as he inched closer, even when it started happening. Growling low in his throat, he felt the foretelling burn, like his whole body was on fire. He opened his mouth to pant and whine as various cracks echoed throughout the small place, his bones growing and readjusting in his body, stretching and tearing his skin as his body morphed into something unnatural.

"_Aah_," he whimpered, still pulling on the chain until, finally, as his muscles grew and his eyes saw red, he heard the chain breaking.

And then he was lost in a world of black.

**~*NS*~**

Two down.

Sasuke looked at the dead werewolf in front of him as it slowly morphed back to its human form. Normally, he wouldn't let this affect him. He would turn away from the bodies, not wanting to see their faces, or he would distance himself until he was looking at them with a certain level of detachment. But there, under that red moon, he forced himself to look at them, forced himself to really _see_ them. These weren't monsters that had done horrible crimes and deserved what they got. These were lost souls that didn't know what they were doing or how to control themselves and had no one to turn to, to help them.

"_I'm still human, right, Sasuke?"_

"_Yes."_

What a hypocrite Sasuke felt like. How could he continue to assure Naruto of his humanity when he refused to see it in anyone else. These were human beings he was killing. He was a murderer. Every month it was getting harder and harder to continue such a life. It was becoming harder to forgive himself for appeasing to his father's desires when they clashed against his own and it was becoming impossible to forgive himself for each life ended.

_If I hadn't of killed them, they would have killed me, or Itachi, or could have gotten in the village and killed one of the villagers. This isn't just for my father; it's for them…isn't it? This is the only way, right?_

"Be careful not to lose your focus," Itachi said from behind him. "The night's far from over."

Sasuke gave a jerky nod as Itachi blocked his view of the bodies. He looked up into his brother's eyes and wondered at the knowledge he saw in them. There were times he just wanted to shake his brother and demand all the information he knew from him.

_What secrets are _you_ keeping, brother?_

Before he could say anything, Itachi pressed his pointer finger between Sasuke's eyebrows, smoothing the skin.

"There's no need for you to be in such deep thought at this moment. Keep your mind clear, your emotions down, and focus on the job."

Sasuke's lips parted, close to asking him…something. He wasn't sure what to ask, but those eyes made him wonder and he found himself feeling uninformed, but then something made his mind clear, his emotions rise, and his focus die.

"_AAAAAH_!"

Turning away from Itachi, Sasuke stared into the dark forest with widened eyes.

_That's…Sakura?_

Before Sasuke could stop himself, he ran in the direction of the scream. He heard Itachi calling out behind him, but ignored it. He could hear his footsteps close behind. Itachi could keep up with him.

Sakura was his closest friend in the village. Even if she annoyed the hell out of him sometimes, and even if it might even be safer for Naruto if she were gone – as he wouldn't have to answer questions she shouldn't be thinking anymore – he didn't want her to die.

But what if she was wounded by one of them?

Would Sasuke be put in the same position as when Naruto had been bitten?

He wasn't in love with Sakura, but he cared about her and loved her in a different way, a platonic way.

_Can I kill her, when I couldn't kill Naruto?_

The screams stopped and Sasuke, in all his carelessness, tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. As quickly as he could, he got to his knees and held his bow up, his right hand reaching back for an arrow if needed. He looked around at the black forest, unable to see far into it. He didn't see anything around, couldn't hear anything but the wind rustling the leaves. His heart was beating a thousand times each second, or so it felt like. He was breathing harshly as he slowly lifted his right leg until his foot was planted on the ground, but kept his left knee pressed into the dirt as he tried to collect himself.

Where had Sakura's screams come from?

There had been so many turns and moving around trees that he couldn't remember anymore. Letting out a puff of breath, he looked behind him only to find that Itachi was no longer in sight.

"Itachi?" he called out hesitantly.

He slowly stood back up, turning around and trying to find…_anyone_.

_Snap_.

Inhaling sharply, he swiftly turned around and saw something that made his heart twist painfully. His eyes widened as they locked with eyes that he didn't ever want to see on the body before him.

They were a startling blue.

They were Naruto's.

There were no doubts in his mind. He was looking into Naruto's eyes. _Why_? How did he break free? The chain must not have held and Sasuke blamed himself. If Naruto had done anything, it would be Sasuke's fault for being so careless. He knew the chain had been in bad shape, but had hoped it would hold as he had been out of time. But it had been because he had had so much on his mind, had allowed himself to forget something important.

_If he kills anyone, it's my fault. If anyone dies by his claws or fangs tonight, or if anyone gets infected, I'm the one who should take the blame._

"…Naruto?"

The beast before him snorted and growled, seeming to rear back on his hind legs like he was about to pounce, but paused. Sasuke noted the blood caked in the dark fur, saw the blood dripping from his mouth and dreaded facing what he'd done – what Sasuke was responsible for. He had killed Lee, in that instant the doubts were being washed away, and now he had killed someone else.

_Who?_

He remembered Sakura's scream and quickly put a lid on that thought.

What to do in this situation? He couldn't kill Naruto, but those eyes weren't looking at him like a friend or a lover. Those eyes were wild with blood lust and those fangs would tear him to shreds once given the chance.

Sasuke's right foot slid to the side and in that moment, Naruto leaped forward with his claws out and his fangs bared. Sasuke instinctively held out his bow as Naruto came down on him, his paws pressing down on the weapon and forcing Sasuke to fall on his back, knocking the air from his lungs.

"_Ooph_!"

Snarls and growls filled Sasuke's ears as he tried pushing at the beast – at Naruto – on top of him. Or to, at the very least, keep those very sharp teeth away from his throat.

"Naruto! Naruto, stop it!" he screamed, unsure why he was even trying. Naruto wasn't there. He wasn't going to recognize Sasuke as someone to protect rather than harm at this moment. Maybe this was it. Maybe he was being punished for sparing him, for doubting his existence, for feeling something akin to sympathy and compassion for things that were supposed to only be viewed as monsters, and for honestly thinking he could get away with scrounging up at least a tiny bit of happiness with him on the nights when it was just the two of them. Of course he couldn't have that, not when so many other people suffered from losing their loved ones to the very thing he had spent years protecting.

The snarls intensified, as if there were more than one source. Sasuke was just about to stop fighting it, to welcome his fate, when Naruto suddenly stopped. His head snapped up, his long ears atop his head straightening as his nostrils flared. The rest happened in a second; a blur of dark brown swooshing at Naruto and throwing him off of Sasuke. Getting up on his elbows, Sasuke looked ahead of him to see two werewolves fighting, something he had rarely seen before. It looked almost like the wolf with brown fur was toying with him. It moved like he had never seen a werewolf move before, as if it knew what it was doing.

Just as he was about to reach back for an arrow to kill the brown wolf, something grabbed the hood of his black cloak and began dragging him backwards. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the muzzle of a werewolf with the most haunting eyes pulling him away from the fight.

_Why_?

Why wasn't it biting or attacking him?

Sasuke began struggling but soon came to a halt as the werewolf stopped. Pulling free from its mouth, his hood tearing in the process, he hurriedly moved away and readied his bow only to see that the wolf had already been pierced by two silver tipped arrows. It was looking at him with a furrowed brow and sad eyes, which confused him, and an open mouth with pieces of his hood between its teeth, but no blood.

"Sasuke!"

Itachi.

More arrows rained down and Sasuke ran towards the source to where his brother and a few others were apparently waiting for him. Had they heard him shouting? Dread filled him at that possibility. What if they heard him shout out Naruto's name? Or worse, what if they not only heard it, but saw his hesitation in killing him? There would be no explanation.

By the time he got to Itachi, he chanced looking back. His fists were tightly clenched and his whole body felt tense. However he was soon relieved when he saw that the dark brown werewolf was gone.

Naruto was gone as well.

"Did you get them?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and detached.

"No. They were too far away and are gone now," Itachi stated, then turned to Sasuke and grabbed his hood. "It didn't bite you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. It was dragging me away…"

Itachi seemed to ponder at that, and Sasuke himself wanted to know why. It was as if that werewolf had been able to think, had a conscious like a human.

He tried to shake the image of those sad eyes out of his mind.

"There are werewolves tonight unlike any we've seen," another hunter stated. "The way they moved, it was like they were hunting us, they were organized. My partner…" the man looked away, unable to continue.

Sasuke turned away, not wanting to look at the grief struck man. Idly, he wondered if the man had killed his own partner or if he was lucky enough to have the wolf to do it for him. What a world they lived in, where watching your loved ones being torn apart and killed before your eyes was considered 'lucky', but it was easier than having to do the deed yourself. Perhaps if Naruto had been killed by the werewolf who bit him, he wouldn't be in such turmoil now. Not him or Naruto. Maybe he could have even moved on from his death and not have to live a life in secrecy, lies, and fear.

His heart twisted at the thought, making him second guess that.

Itachi and the other hunter left and Sasuke quickly followed, ignoring his own desires. He wanted to go and find Naruto, make sure he stayed safe until the night was over. But that would rise suspicion that he couldn't afford them to have. Not now.

He only hoped Naruto wouldn't get pierced with silver and that he didn't see him while with Itachi. He would find him in the morning, hopefully finding him alive and as well as possible.

It was at that time that Sasuke closed his eyes and noted the sudden level of noise in the woods.

It was filled with people screaming and wolves howling and growling. Sasuke was used to the screams and the smell of blood, but this felt different. This felt personal. Almost like something had happened to make the werewolves snap.

Absently, he found his eyes trailing up to the red moon, finding it to be a rather mocking observer.

**~*NS*~**

It was a massacre. Never had there been so many victims in one night. The werewolves from that night were different than anything the village had seen. They hunted in packs and were definitely more in control. If that was what they were going to face every month, Sasuke had no doubt their village would die out.

He had never been so happy to see the moon disappear before.

His eyes scanned the victims, the piles of bodies; even though he had avoided it in the past. He had to make sure. He had felt sick the entire night with worry. Naruto was out there, being hunted…he didn't want to think about him being caught. However, the more he scanned the area, the more at ease he began to feel. Naruto wasn't among the dead there. He had gotten away and was safe…

But were they?

Would those werewolves that seemed to hunt in a pack come back next month? Where had they come from? Sasuke didn't think that they were from around here. Did werewolves travel in packs? They had all been strays until this point, coming from all sorts of areas around the village in the forest. Who knew where exactly their forest of wolves went to? Sasuke had never been to another place where people lived but he knew there had to be more villages. Their village wasn't special enough to be the only one.

_I can't think of this right now_, Sasuke thought. Now that he had put himself at ease with Naruto, he went to search out Sakura. She had not been among the dead, but someone else he recognized had been.

Sakura would need comforting. He couldn't give her the entire morning or even afternoon, but he wanted to at least check on her. He wanted to offer her…_something_.

He soon found Sakura sitting on a rock, holding a picture of her and Ino from when they were kids in her hands. She looked down at it with swollen red eyes.

"Sakura?"

"She's dead. Ino's dead," Sakura whispered, sounding hopeless and yet her eyes looked hallow. Sasuke knew what these nights took from her, and he wasn't sure how much more her sanity could take. He stood close to the rock, so that if she wanted to grab his hand or reach out for him at all, she could. When she didn't, he put his hand on her shoulder and she covered it with her own.

"Those eyes…"

"What?"

"I saw those eyes again…"

Sasuke remembered the scream he heard and realization hit him hard.

Naruto had killed Ino.

He had most likely killed Lee and now he had taken another one. Who knows if they were the only two? Naruto had been wandering for four months before Sasuke chained him up. He could have killed someone the other three months he had been free.

But it was his own fault. Every victim of Naruto's was also his own. He was the one who let Naruto live at the risk of everyone in the village, and he was the one who forgot to change the chain.

Without a word, Sakura let go of Sasuke's hand and got up from the rock. He could tell by the way she shrugged off his hand that she didn't want comfort or company. What she wanted didn't matter. She went to burn Ino's picture, along with her other things, even though she most likely didn't want to (it had been hard on Sasuke to burn Naruto's things, and he wasn't even technically dead). She would burn Ino from existence in the world, keeping the only proof of her in her own mind and soul.

Taking his eyes off of Sakura, he looked back at the bodies being burned and caught the eye of the one who had dragged him by the hood. She was a pretty girl, curvy, long dark hair and fair skin.

Why hadn't she killed him? She could have, if she had wanted to. She could have tore his throat open but hadn't. Instead she dragged him away from the fight and looked at him with clear emotion as she died. He looked at her face now, noticing how her eyes were open and seemed to be staring right through him.

He watched her burn, unable to look away from those haunting lavender eyes.


	7. Infected

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 7: **Infected

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **Hm, so I don't think this will be much longer. Maybe four more chapters? We'll see. Anyway, more stuff happens here. Still no flashbacks, but there will be some in the next chapter.

**Edit:** Fixed this chapter up a bit. ^_^;; No big changes though.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

Naruto woke up in what could only be described as mind numbing pain. His whole body felt like it was on fire, his wounds stung, his muscles were sore, and his skin bruised. He was almost afraid to open his eyes, because he could smell the blood and it wasn't just his own. Swallowing thickly, he slowly peeled himself up from the ground and opened his eyes. He was sitting in the grass, somewhere deep in the forest. He didn't recognize his surroundings, but he remembered the first few months after he'd been infected and the mornings after his first few transformations. He would always wake up in random areas and sometimes it would take him awhile to find his way around back towards the village.

Leaning back, his left hand pressing into the ground behind him, he brought his other hand to his face. There was blood caked under his nails and he knew it was in his hair too. He felt dirty and grimy and wanted nothing more than to find a river to dive into.

Braving a look at the rest of his body, he looked down to see multiple claw marks from other werewolves along his torso and chest – there was probably some on his back as well. They didn't look to still be bleeding horribly, but they were deep and would take some time to heal, even for him, though he was relieved to note that he hadn't been struck by any silver during the night. These were all wounds from other wolves.

Was it Kiba, or someone else from his pack?

Groaning, Naruto grabbed his head as it began to ache. He couldn't remember anything from the night before, but he hoped he hadn't come across any humans on his hunt for Kiba. He had hoped he could keep some form of consciousness last night, but he supposed he was a fool to believe so.

_Sasuke…_

He couldn't pick up the scent of Sasuke's blood on him, which helped keep him calm. But he still wanted to check on him. Getting up on shaky legs, Naruto looked at his surroundings and sniffed the air. Wobbling a bit, he used the trees as support as he tried to get back to where Sasuke would be.

**~*NS*~**

When Sasuke left his room, he heard Itachi and his father's angry voices from the kitchen, though they were hushed so he couldn't hear what they were talking about. Light on his feet, Sasuke inched closer until he could make out what they were saying. It was rare for them to argue, since Itachi usually kept quiet with his opinions – even Sasuke didn't know what they were. Sasuke had long wondered what Itachi thought of their system, but he never really spoke of it. There were times, however, when he thought he had seen Itachi give their father a disapproving look.

"We've lost too many people this time. I think I think we should just stay in the village and not hunt in the woods anymore," he heard Itachi say.

"So we can just let them multiply and overrun us? Rather than hide, what we need to do is find the beasts before they change, when it's not a full moon."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"They have to have some sort of hiding place. We just need to go deeper into the forest and find it." His father's voice was stern and matter-of-fact.

"We've never ventured deep into the forest; we don't know what's out there."

"Then we'll find out."

He heard Itachi sigh.

"I see it doesn't matter what I say."

"I'm doing this to protect the village," Fugaku said in a way that told Sasuke he would no longer be discussing it. He heard his father's footsteps come closer to him but didn't move. He had no reason to hide in his own house. When his father passed him, he spared Sasuke a glance before continuing on his way.

"Why do you hate them so much?" Sasuke found himself asking, almost berating himself for it.

Fugaku stopped, but didn't look back at Sasuke.

"Because they deserve nothing less."

And then he was gone.

Sasuke stayed standing there, his eyebrows furrowed, wondering why his father had become so cold. He tried to remember a different time, but this was the only father he remembered. Sighing, he went into the kitchen where Itachi was sitting at the table, eating eggs with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

"After such a night, you should eat something as well," Itachi said without looking at him.

Sasuke nodded and went to make himself an egg. He wanted to get to Naruto as soon as possible, but didn't want to appear in a rush. Itachi had squeezed enough orange juice for him to drink as well and so he poured himself a cup of it when he was done with his eggs and went to sit at the table across from his brother. The kitchen was quiet even though there was noise outside. Sasuke ate his food at a normal pace, not choking anything down.

He couldn't help but remember that Itachi had been there when Naruto had attacked him last night. He was afraid that he might have heard something, that he might have heard him shout Naruto's name. But he wasn't sure how to bring it up or ask him. So he tried to make himself appear aloof, like he didn't have anything to hide and wasn't keeping any secrets.

"You overheard us," Itachi suddenly brought up, now looking right at him.

"I did."

"And what do you think about what we discussed?"

Sasuke blinked, unsure how to answer that. He brought a piece of his egg with some of the hardened yolk to his mouth and slowly chewed it while he thought.

What did he think of it? He thought his father was being unreasonable and stubborn. He wasn't going to be swayed in his decision to always go in the forest, even if it was just for one month. Sasuke had never questioned it for the longest time, and even when he did question his father and the way he did things, he tried not to dwell on it for long. It wasn't like he could do anything to change his mind, no one could.

Swallowing, he answered, "I think that nothing will keep him out of the forest."

Itachi nodded slowly, eying the little bit of food on Sasuke's plate. "You don't usually have breakfast with me."

"I've had breakfast with you," Sasuke defended, feeling as if he was being accused of something.

"Not often."

_What do you know? What did you hear last night?_ Sasuke wanted to shake the answers out of him, but he was too afraid of what those answers would be.

What if he had heard?

Would he tell their father? Would he kill him himself? Would he try and find Naruto and do what Sasuke never could?

None of the possibilities his mind was coming up with were pleasant.

"What are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

Rather than answering, Itachi looked out of the window by the table and Sasuke mimicked him, noting that Itachi was looking into the forest. His body felt tense and he wondered if his palms were sweating as badly as he thought they were.

Itachi couldn't know…he couldn't…

"If you have somewhere else you want to be, then you should go."

Rather than playing word (or mind) games, Sasuke gulped the rest of his juice and left the table, his chair screeching across the floor as he did so. It was cowardly, but he wanted to get away from his brother and the possibility of him knowing as fast as he could. As he left the kitchen, he heard Itachi sigh and almost went back to see what was bothering him, but instead let his feet take him out of the house and towards the forest. He wanted to check on Naruto as soon as possible and hoped he had made it back to the hide out. While walking, trying to keep his pace normal, he thought back to Sakura and what he had learned from her.

_I won't tell him about Ino. There's no reason for him to know. It's not like he purposely tried to get out last night. No, this isn't his fault. He would have stayed put had I not been so careless. _

Sasuke reached the hatch only to see the door broken to pieces. Peeking into the hole, he called Naruto's name but received no response. He hadn't made it back yet. Should he wait? Standing up straight, he looked around the forest and realized he had never traveled very deeply into it. Naruto had though, hadn't he? The way he had talked about it made him believe that the further in you went, the more dangerous it became. It was like being hunted by your very surroundings.

Had Naruto gone deep into the forest?

Was he okay?

Sasuke didn't want to wait for him to wander back. He needed to see him and know whether or not he was okay.

With that thought in mind, Sasuke went deeper into the forest. He had left his bow and arrows at home in his haste to leave. Usually he was always on edge the day after, always on guard, expecting something to come out and get him. As the month wore on, he would start to leave his weapons behind, carrying only a knife with a silver blade in his boot, which he still had. He felt it against him, near his ankle. It wasn't pressed against his skin, but between the leather of his boot and the fabric of his pants that were tucked in. Nevertheless, it was a comfort to have it there, to feel it there.

He listened to the sound of the wind against the trees, the snapping of twigs beneath his feet, and wondered if he should call out Naruto's name. It didn't sound like there was anyone or anything else around, and Naruto had a keen sense of hearing. Perhaps he would hear him.

Sasuke's fingers itched with the urge to touch him, caress and hold him. He wanted to be the one to take him when they met. Whenever they were together in Sasuke's room, it would always be Naruto taking him, because it was quieter that way. Naruto tended to make more noise when he was being taken by Sasuke, so they left that for when they were in the forest – unless they felt like doing otherwise.

"Naruto!" he shouted, deciding for it. He got nothing but the wind in response. He continued shouting his name, while stopping to listen between his calls to listen for Naruto as well as any sign of danger. However, the deeper he got into the forest, the less of a response he received. Soon there was nothing and it made him pause.

There were no birds chirping, no crickets, no sign of life save for the rustling of the trees' leaves, but even that wasn't as consistent as before. He looked at the trees and noticed that some of them looked scared, as if they had been witnesses and bystanders to many battles. Branches were broken off and on the ground, some small and others large enough that he'd have to climb over them or go around.

Goosebumps formed along Sasuke's skin and he became on edge. His eyes slowly scanned the area as he remained calm, despite feeling as if someone was watching him…or some_thing_.

The forest was dark, the sun almost completely blocked out by the clouds and trees, and his eyes lingered in the shadowed areas that he couldn't see well in. There could easily be something hiding in those areas, watching him, waiting for the right moment to attack. Taking a step back, he felt a twig break under his foot. He wondered if he should reach into his boot or if he was just being paranoid. Or maybe he should just go back, but he wasn't sure if he could wait for Naruto to get back there.

What if he never made it back?

"Na—ooph!"

Sasuke suddenly found himself on his back, unable to breathe as a hand clenched around his throat. Opening his eyes, though narrowly, he looked up into dark eyes that were so narrow they looked like slits. They reminded him of a snake or a cat, or some other type of predator. They seemed to narrow further when seeing him.

"Hey," the man growled. "The name's Kiba. You're Sasuke, right?"

Sasuke clenched his teeth and tried to push the body off of him, but it was futile. The man above him was much stronger than he was, it was disconcerting. It wasn't as if Sasuke believed he should be able to take on any man, but he had been trained! He could hold his own against anyone in the village. The only person he couldn't budge against was Naruto and that was because he was a –

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You're a werewolf."

The man smirked and leaned back. "Ah, so you're not dumb as I'd thought you'd be. That's good at least."

"What do you want?"

Kiba's eyes narrowed and he was growling again.

"Payback."

And with that, Kiba grabbed a hold of the back of his head and slammed him down repeatedly. Pain shot through him and his vision began to get splotchy until he couldn't see at all. His world turning black.

**~*NS*~**

When Sasuke came to, he recognized his surroundings and wondered if it had all been a dream. Maybe he had gone to the barn for old times' sake and fell asleep, but that thought deteriorated when he heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the man who introduced himself as Kiba, looking down at him with a sadistic smirk. Candles were lit throughout the barn and there was an open window where the moon peered through.

It was night already? But it wasn't a full moon, so Sasuke had nothing to worry about. Kiba couldn't transform if the moon wasn't full.

"I see you finally woke up."

He wiggled his fingers, his whole body feeling slightly tingly and heavy. It felt weird to move but Sasuke forced himself to at least roll onto his back – he had been on his stomach – and sit up.

"Why did you bring me back here? If the village finds out you're here, they'll kill you," Sasuke warned, narrowing his eyes.

"Worrying about my safety, are you? No need. I doubt your people could handle me right now, especially with my pack so close by, surrounding the village. If they smell my blood, they'll come in and kill everyone. Men, women, children…no one will be spared."

"What are you talking about? It doesn't matter if you're stronger than a normal human; you're still nowhere near as strong as when you transform! And you're not even armed!" There weren't any weapons Sasuke could see on Kiba. How he planned to kill a village of trained hunters was beyond him.

"Hmm, so he didn't tell you. How nice of him. He's put you in a rather vulnerable state."

"Who are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded, trying to sound threatening, even though he had too good of an idea who Kiba was referring to.

"Why, your beloved pet, Naruto, of course."

"You – have you _met_?"

Why would Naruto not tell him of a werewolf pack in the area? Was he…protecting them? Did he think Sasuke would kill them while they were in their human forms? Was Naruto…a _part_ of the pack?

Something about that made Sasuke's stomach turn.

"We have," Kiba smirked, seeming pleased that Naruto kept his existence a secret. "I've given him the opportunity to join us." His smirk disappeared and was replaced with a scowl. "But he seems to be attached to his leash and collar, because so far he's rejected this offer."

Sasuke wasn't sure whether he felt offended, glad, or smug. He didn't like the way Kiba referred to him. He was belittling their feelings for each other and mocking them at the same time. But he was glad that Naruto rejected the offer and felt a little smug because Naruto would rather be with him than with a pack.

"But it seems he's not completely loyal to you, since he failed to inform you that I'm in the area and that I have a pack." Kiba bent down and grabbed a fist full of Sasuke's hair and growled in his face, "And that we can control our transformations."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "That can't be…"

"Possible? How could you know? You and your village have been killing stray pups that are new to the world, so to speak, or blinded with revenge. It's like you've been killing newborns, which is true, to some extent. Once you're changed, it's like being born again." Kiba stood back up and looked out at the moon. "But my pack isn't made of newborns. We can transform during the day too, but we prefer to keep it at night. While the moon doesn't control us, it does give us a nice little power boost."

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. Was Kiba bluffing? Of course! He _had_ to be bluffing! A werewolf transforming on a night when there was no full moon was unheard of!

"You're _lying_."

Kiba smirked, leaned back down and patted Sasuke's cheek twice. "Don't worry, you'll see for yourself before the end of tonight."

Sasuke slapped Kiba's hand away and stood up on shaky legs. His head hurt worse than he ever remembered and he couldn't stop from grabbing it as his vision blurred slightly.

"Humans are so fragile," Kiba stated, his voice mocking. "Wouldn't you like to be less so?"

Taking deep breathes, Sasuke stood straight, refusing to look as vulnerable as he felt. He narrowly opened his eyes to glare at Kiba, closing his mouth and breathing through his nose. He lowered his hands and scowled.

"What are you implying?"

"Heh, no matter how hard you try to hide it, you're feeling pretty weak, aren't you? It's okay if you want to fall, little human. You did hit your head rather hard…and multiple times…" Kiba broke off to chuckle in amusement, but Sasuke didn't share the feeling with him. He didn't want to be in this creature's presence any longer, but he wasn't sure how to leave without getting struck down on his way out. His weapons were all out of reach and he regretted standing, realizing he should have stayed on the ground where he could reach into his boot without being too noticeable.

"So you've got me backed in a corner, so to speak. What do you want?" Sasuke hated playing games and beating around the bush. Obviously Kiba wanted something from him or else he'd be dead already. Of course, he had no idea if Kiba was going to kill him either way, but he could at least buy himself some time to think or for someone to come upon them.

Kiba's eyes hardened and all trace of amusement left his features as he became stiff.

"I told you, I want revenge."

Sasuke briefly recalled Kiba saying something about payback before knocking him unconscious.

"I haven't done anything to you." But even as the words left his mouth, uncertainty crept into him and it showed. If Kiba was a werewolf and had a pack…then did he kill one of those members? Suddenly, he remembered the wolves from last night and what people said about them. How they hunted…

"That was your pack that attacked us last night…that we fought…" he realized and from the look he got from Kiba in response, he had no doubt that it was true.

Kiba's pack had attacked them last night.

"Your village has been killing our kind for too long. Plus, my pack was getting bored; I had to give them some entertainment. I hadn't planned on attacking your village before last night, but Naruto was irritating me. He's always kind of pissed me off, to be honest. It's _disgusting_, how he clings to you and lets you chain him up like a dog."

"I've never treated or thought of him as a _dog_," Sasuke snapped, offended. He chained Naruto up to protect him, because he didn't want anything to happen to him and so what had happened last night didn't become a monthly thing. It wasn't as if he got some sick pleasure out of it. It was just _necessary_.

"Yes, well, I was going to let my pack have as much fun as they wanted last night but then…" Kiba looked away, as if he couldn't bear to look at Sasuke, as if he thought Sasuke to be the most appalling thing he'd ever seen. "My mate, Hinata, had been a human when I found her. But unlike some weak hearted cowards, I wasn't afraid to change her." The quick glance Kiba sent him gave Sasuke no doubts that he was referring to Naruto and how he had never changed him. But that was what Sasuke wanted. He didn't want to change. He didn't want to lose everything, even if Naruto had. He knew it was selfish, but it was also selfish of Naruto to want to take him away from his friends and family, wasn't it?

There was no option that wouldn't hurt someone, so wasn't it the _best_ option to just leave everything the way it was?

"However, Hinata still remained the same. She still held a love for your kind, which is why we never attacked any villages." Kiba looked up, seeming lost in thought, thinking of his mate and Sasuke wondered if he even remembered he was there.

He eyed his leg.

"When she heard we were going to play with the humans last night, she insisted that we not harm them. I had already promised my pack a fun night, so I couldn't back out entirely. Besides, despite her compassion for humans, she has been with us for a few years now and had gained compassion for our kind as well. She was worried your village would come and hunt us eventually, that maybe one day you'd come into our forest and kill us. So we compromised, because that's what mates do. I let my pack have fun with the hunters of your village, but they were not to kill anyone, nor were they allowed to enter the village."

"But your pack _did_ kill some of my people, a lot of my people actually," Sasuke stated, feeling a pang in his chest when he remembered all of the bodies.

Kiba shook his head and continued, ignoring him. "I was surprised when I caught Naruto's scent, even more so when it was mixed with yours. You were his chosen pray for that night. Funny how that works out, isn't it? The one person he wanted to protect the most was about to be killed by his own hands…or, well, claws in this case, if he wasn't careful." He paused to snort. "But Hinata decided to help you out and I went along with it. Plus, I thought it would be fun to play with Naruto and have him owe me." He finally turned back to look at Sasuke, who was frozen in his spot.

Kiba had been the one to save him from Naruto's attack, and Hinata was the one who dragged him away.

She was the one with the lavender eyes.

"But then your kind came and killed her," Kiba growled, walking towards him, showing no fear. "Remember her now?"

Sasuke's eyes widened but he didn't say anything.

"After that, I signaled my pack to slaughter as many people as they could."

"They killed before that," Sasuke pointed out.

"They hurt some of your people when backed into a corner and sometimes those wounds were deeper than they intended."

"That doesn't justify –"

Kiba grabbed him by the throat, cutting him off and slamming back to the ground. For the second time that day, Sasuke felt the air knocked out of him. Kiba got right in his face and snarled.

"Don't talk to me about _justification_, not when your village has been hunting my kind for no good reason!"

Sasuke attempted to gather air into his lungs as he grabbed Kiba's wrist, his other hand reaching down to his boot.

"I don't…know what you're…" Kiba squeezed harder, once again cutting him off.

"Why don't you ask daddy dearest." Sitting up straight, Kiba looked back at the moon and his features began to change, making Sasuke still. When Kiba spoke again, his voice was deeper and raspier. "You know, I was gonna kill you. But I think I know a much more fitting punishment for this village." He turned back to Sasuke and his teeth had gotten noticeably longer and pointed. His features became sharper and it wasn't long before there were nails pressing into his throat and Sasuke began to panic.

If Kiba pressed harder he would puncture the skin.

"No – _don't_!"

"Don't worry," Kiba purred, leaning down and running his tongue along the crook of Sasuke's neck. "It'll only feel like a punishment in the beginning. Then you'll see all of what you gain and realize that it's better this way."

Sasuke tried to wrench his head away but with Kiba's grip on his neck he couldn't go far. He started struggling against the hold but Kiba's strength was superior. The part of him that hated feeling inferior whispered to him to just let him do it. He would be given access to more power and be less vulnerable. But another part feared what he would give up for that – his family and home. So he continued to struggle and tried to wiggle his leg out from under Kiba – as his knees were on either side of him – so he could reach into his boot, but it was too far down and his arms weren't that long.

Kiba removed his hands from his neck only to slam him down by his shoulders as soon as he tried to move. It happened so fast after that, Kiba showing no hesitation. Sasuke shouted out when he felt fangs pierce through his skin and wondered if Kiba was just going to change him or bite off a chunk of his body and eat him. He was soon answered when Kiba pulled back, not biting off a huge chunk of him but definitely tearing some of his skin off and taking it with him.

Sasuke's hand went up to his neck, covering the wound as pain shook his body. He grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, knowing it would only get worse as the night wore on and his body would begin going through the change.

Kiba wiped his mouth and smirked.

"There. I've finally done what Naruto's too chicken to do."

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but just ended up hissing in pain, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to get a hold of himself. Naruto had managed to keep himself sane for awhile when he was bitten, so Sasuke could do the same! Still, he found himself pushing weakly at Kiba's chest, his mind too cloudy to remember to even try and reach his knife.

"But I don't know, after all the trouble you caused me, maybe I should just kill you and your father and brother? Then I'll just change everyone else." Kiba tapped his chin in thought as he moved to stand up, freeing Sasuke from his hold. "Does it hurt? This is nothing compared to what Hinata was put through. I don't know what it's like to be stuck with the one thing we're weakest against – or allergic to, you could say – but I'm guessing it's not pleasant and that her last moments felt much longer."

Sasuke rolled to his side, breathing heavily and only half aware of what Kiba was even saying. He shifted until he was on his stomach and managed to get on his hands and knees, his left hand staining the ground with his blood.

His blood that was now tainted.

_Infected_.

"You look so pathetic. I wish Naruto could see you now. It would be priceless. Maybe I'll let you live until he finds you, because no doubt he will, and then kill you in front of him. Maybe then he'll know how I feel. How it feels to –"

Sasuke managed to look over his shoulder when he heard Kiba stop talking, wondering if the pain was overriding his senses, even as it began to dull – though it would surely flare up again. But Kiba's lips weren't moving, though they were parted. His eyes were wide and shock was written all over his face as well as confusion. Blood began to dribble out of his mouth before he collapsed to the ground, showing an arrow stuck in his back and the face of the last person he wanted to see.

_Father…_

Fugaku stared at Kiba impassively before moving his eyes to Sasuke. The expression that took over made Sasuke's stomach turn and he had to hold back the urge to vomit.

His father was looking at him with nothing but pure disgust.

"Sasuke," he said, his voice filled with detest as he took in his wound. Sasuke got up to his knees, futilely covering it with his already stained hand, unsure of what he should do.

It was around that time that Sasuke heard the howls and remembered what Kiba said about his pack surrounding the village. The sound of screams slowly began to echo throughout the village as the two Uchiha's stared at each other. Fugaku didn't seem to care about the villagers and Sasuke realized he had never seen his father show remorse for the deceased.

"You're infected."

And with that, an arrow was being aimed at him.


	8. Life as a Nightmare

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 8: **Life as a Nightmare

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **I struggled so hard at the start of this chapter but…I did my best. I really enjoyed writing it despite the struggle so hopefully you guys find it enjoyable to read. :) And also, I was able to do this without the flashback so…there we go. I'm not sure there will be anymore in the story.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

Sasuke stared at his father in disbelief as he pointed an arrow at him, his expression distant and cold. It was not the face of a father, but of an enemy who wanted him dead. The reality of it hit Sasuke hard and fast.

His father was going to _kill_ him, without showing an ounce of remorse.

The pain from Sasuke's shoulder was nothing compared to the ache in his chest.

"Father…you're really going to kill me?" Sasuke asked softly, though his voice was strained.

"You are no longer my son," he said without emotion.

"Yes, I am!" Standing on shaky legs, he looked his father in the eye. "If you kill me, you will be the father who killed his son, not some monster!"

_I'm not a monster_, Sasuke's mind shouted, _I was born a human and I still am!_ He didn't feel any different from when he was bitten. His heart was still beating, he still felt pain, in more ways than one due to current circumstances, and he still felt emotions – a mix of them, anger, sadness, fear, and betrayal being the most intense in him.

"You are no longer human." His father narrowed his eyes, as if he had just read his mind. "I'm not sure if you were ever my son."

Sasuke sputtered. "What are you _talking_ about?"

"I heard what that thing said, it mentioned Naruto's name. That boy…who should have died years ago… Is he still alive?"

Faltering at that, Sasuke stuttered out an answer, "N-no! He's…he's dead! I killed him! Itachi saw me!"

"He saw you burn a body." Anger entered his father's eyes as they narrowed further. "You lied. You've been lying all this time, haven't you? Naruto is alive and one of them…you've been harboring the enemy!"

"Naruto isn't the enemy!" Sasuke quickly defended, realizing right after that he confirmed that he was alive by saying that. Not that it really mattered. His father had his mind set on his truth and nothing could sway him from it. Just like how nothing he said would be able to make him see that he wasn't a monster. That Sasuke, his son, wasn't already dead.

"Yes, he is. He would not hesitate to kill you, Sasuke. He's not human…and now neither are you." He pulled the bow string back. "I have to do this. Maybe you should consider this punishment for your sins."

"You're not doing this for anyone but yourself! Why do you _hate_ them so much? You hate werewolves more than anyone else in this village! You're so eager to kill them all, you didn't even show any emotion when we lost so many just last night!" Sasuke's fists clenched in anger. He had been afraid, not just for his own life, but for Naruto's, but that was quickly fading as anger took over.

He just couldn't understand his father. How could he be so cold over someone he had once claimed to love? Had he always been this way? He tried to remember a father who was more loving and less aggressive but he couldn't. He had always been distant, keeping a wall between him and his sons. Even though they lived in the same house… they might as well have all been living miles away.

But his mother… He had one good memory of her, one that wasn't fully blurred or gone.

She had been smiling softly at him, her face and heart open. She had been the complete opposite of how his father was now, not that he remembered his father from that long ago at all.

Had he been cold with her?

"Was it that way with mom too? Did you enjoy killing her? Were you sad at all? Maybe you're the one who's the monster, father!" he spat the words, closing his eyes. Behind his lids, his mother's face entered his mind. It was a face that was sometimes blurry. She had died when he was so young and everything of her had been burned. He had been ashamed when he was younger, because he longed to remember what she looked like, what she sounded like, but was led to believe that that was wrong.

Now he realized it was his father who had been wrong all along.

"Watch your tongue," his father sneered. "You don't even know what your mother was, what she did – or rather, what she _tried_ to do. I did what I had to in order to protect this village and my family from her and the rest of them. She was one of the ones who brought this curse on us in the first place!"

"My mother was a _victim_, both the wolves and yours," Sasuke insisted, trying to remember what he had been told. The details were so blurry; he realized he couldn't remember much other than watching her burn.

"Your mother didn't see herself as their victim, she had no shame in being a monster," his father continued, his eyes seeing through Sasuke, looking into the past. "She came to us with some other wanderers, though there weren't many of them, only four if I remember correctly. They had wandered to the village, claiming to be victims of some attack. They told us that their own village burned down and we were foolish enough to believe them and took them in."

Sasuke's lips parted. What was he talking about? His mother had been born and raised in the village, hadn't she? Apparently not. He looked back at Kiba again. Had she been a werewolf from a pack, just like him? But then, why had she stayed in a human village? He wanted to ask, but his father was somewhere else, and kept talking anyway.

"After they entered our village, they built their own houses and made this village their home. They blended in perfectly with us. The only thing off about them was that none of them besides Mikoto, your mother, tried to settle down and marry. The only one who did marry besides Mikoto was Minato, who came in with them and was one of them."

Minato. Naruto's father. He had been a werewolf a part of his mother's pack? Sasuke's head was reeling with this new information. His vision was also getting splotchy and he was panting, the wound Kiba gave him hurt so much and it was starting to increase, though slowly. The screams and howling outside seemed so distant and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if his father cared or even heard it at all. Sasuke wondered if the wolves were killing the villagers or changing them.

"Both of them had kids, as you know. But luckily, their..._disease_ didn't seem to pass on to their children, but your mother wanted to change you, she wanted to change me too. Minato had already changed Kushina – the fool had let him – and was going to change Naruto as well, but on that same night, Mikoto tried to change _me_." A look of pure disgust overcame his father's features and Sasuke could only guess too well where it went from there. "She told me about what she was, about how she had been looking for a mate and didn't want to wait anymore. She and the others wanted to change the entire village! I couldn't let that happen. At first I thought she was insane, but then she began to change. She could…_control_ her transformations. But I didn't let her transform completely, while she was changing, I took a knife and stabbed her as many times as I could before she fell to the ground. Even then though, she didn't _die_, but she was wounded and on the ground, her transformation had stopped as well. Then the screaming began, much like tonight."

He looked behind himself and Sasuke wondered what he saw. Was it chaos? Why were no werewolves coming to them? Maybe they were saving them for last, or maybe they were working their way over. The barn was sort of detached from the village in the very back corner of it.

"Someone had struck a wolf down with silver though, and they reacted so strongly… I realized their weakness right away and alerted the other villagers. By dawn, all but one werewolf was dead, and that was because he escaped. Luckily for your friend Naruto, his parents had been killed by their neighbors who came to check on them, before he had been turned." His eyes hardened. "Though perhaps it would have been for the best had he been changed and killed. Not that we knew right away that you could be infected. I watched you and your brother after the first burning, where we burned only those from your mother's pack, worried that whatever she was had been passed down, but nothing happened. However, at the next full moon, we noticed that everyone who had been harmed became a monster. It was after that night that I realized we were at war with them."

_A war that you started_, Sasuke mentally shouted, but found he couldn't speak. He knew that if he were to open his mouth, he would only scream. The pain was getting more intense and he was minutes away from vomiting.

Seeming to be done with his little tale, his father drew the arrow back once more.

"And now I have to kill yet another person I thought I could trust."

_Move…move, move! _Sasuke's mind screamed, his legs shook but he stood, almost stumbling forward in the process. His father released the arrow and Sasuke managed to dodge it. His father quickly got another arrow out as Sasuke pressed against the wooden wall, breathing hard, ready to make a run for the exit his father was blocking. His father would no doubt change to a blade after this second arrow and he would have to be careful not to get pierced with it.

Silver, he had killed with it for many years, now it was him on the other end, his life depending on not letting it touch him.

But before his father could release the arrow of his own accord, another arrow came out of the darkness and pierced his left shoulder. His own arrow had been released and Sasuke quickly pushed himself off of the wall, the arrow sticking into the wood.

Hissing, his father reached back and yanked the arrow out, glaring over his shoulder, the look of betrayal and anger intensifying in his eyes.

"You _traitor_," his father accused between clenched teeth.

Sasuke, using his father's distracted state to his advantage, dashed towards the exit. Once he was out, he looked to see who his savor once. His vision was blurry, but there was no way he could mistake who he saw.

Itachi.

He froze, staring at him with wide eyes as his brother became harder to see. He…thought he saw him mouthing something at him, but it was as if something was in his ears, blocking out sound. Reaching up, he pressed against them and shook his head, blinking hard. Everything came crystal clear then, only for a second, but that was still long enough to take in what he was seeing.

Itachi was shouting at him, waving an arm in the direction of the forest.

"Sasuke, run! _Run_!"

Stumbling backwards, Sasuke turned in the direction of the forest and, unable to think, ran like his life depended on it.

Which it did.

**~*NS*~**

Apparently Naruto had gone deeper into the forest than he had thought, or ever been. He was almost tempted to go back and venture even further. There was something poking at him, urging him to explore the unknown in hopes that there would be some place on this earth where he didn't have to hide. But the urge to find Sasuke, as well as the desire to be with him, outweighed everything else, as usual. So he kept going until he got to the hatch, expecting Sasuke to be there waiting for him, despite night having fallen.

_I guess he got tired of waiting, _he thought, then stopped to take a breath, inhaling deeply through his nose before becoming stiff.

That scent…

That was…blood…

A _lot_ of it.

Taking a step in the direction of the village, fear filled his veins. The scents mixed, but he got a general idea of who it was between. There was a mixture of werewolf blood as well as human blood.

Was it…Kiba's pack?

But why?

Why was he still going after the village after the full moon had passed? Well…that was it, wasn't it? The only real proof he needed to assure him that Kiba's whole pack could control their transformations. It wasn't a lie or a trick.

Without another thought, Naruto took off in the direction of the village.

**~*NS*~ **

Sasuke had no idea where he was going. He ran blindly through the forest, getting away from the massacre. He couldn't see anymore, his vision blurred and what little he could see earlier was now covered in big spots. He had his arms in front of him, slapping the vines and branches out of his way, though something kept hitting and scratching at him despite that.

Soon he forgot about Itachi and the fact that his father and him may be fighting for their lives back in the village. He forgot about Naruto being out there somewhere. All he could think about was the pain that was tearing him apart and setting his body ablaze.

It was despicable, some part of his unconsciousness knew, the way he ran. He felt ashamed, but that feeling only lasted for a second before the pain was there to take his mind away again. His instincts screamed at him to run as fast as he could, to get as far away as possible.

When he first set off into the forest, there had been doubt. Images of Itachi flitted through his mind. His brother had always taken good care of him in his father's absence. He had given Sasuke the affection his inner child needed in order to sustain a healthy mind throughout the insanity. But he knew his brother was tired. A year or two after Naruto had been changed, Itachi began to speak to him less and slept more. He hadn't known what to do or say to his brother then, and now he may never have the chance to worry about it again.

And then there was Naruto. What if he was looking for Sasuke at that very moment? What if he came to the village and got hurt? What if he was already hurt out there?

Itachi and Naruto's faces kept fading in and out of his mind until he couldn't think of them anymore. Just like Naruto said. Back then, Naruto had said that he had been in so much pain, he couldn't think of anything else. Not even Sasuke.

Now he knew what he meant back then.

Finally collapsing after who knew how long, he fell face first into the dirt and clawed at his skin, feeling as if it was being burned off. He shook violently and greedily tried inhaling air into his lungs, never quite seeming to get enough as he felt as if he were suffocating. He rolled over on his side and vomited, unable to keep anything in anymore. His head felt like it was being split in two. He blinked hard, his eyes stinging, and he could vaguely feel a wetness on his cheeks.

The sheer agony of being changed was more than anything he had ever had to bear before. He wasn't even sure how it could be possible to stay alive during it. He was going to die there, wasn't he? There was no way his body could handle this. He had never thought of himself as weak, but that was exactly how he felt right at that moment.

He was being ripped apart from the seams and wasn't sure if he would have the strength left over to put himself back together.

Maybe he didn't want to.

**~*NS*~**

Naruto could scarcely believe his eyes as he took in the village. There were bodies lying around everywhere, both ones he recognized and ones he didn't. There were still sounds of fighting going on throughout the place, but the people were caught off guard and were no doubt falling.

It was a massacre.

"Please…help me…" a man who had a chunk of skin missing from his side whimpered, dragging himself across the ground, looking at Naruto but not really seeing him.

Naruto looked at the man with a horrified expression, knowing that there was nothing he could do for him. He would die long before he could change, the wound was too deep and he was losing too much blood at too fast of a rate. That wound wasn't given to him in means to change him, it was meant to kill.

"Please…" the man pleaded again, reaching up to him, his voice becoming thick and it sounded like he was choking on his own blood. "Please…kill me…"

Kill him?

Naruto had never killed a human before; at least, he hoped so. After last night…he looked down at his stained hands, not having stopped to wash off yet. There were so many mixed scents that he couldn't really tell if the blood on his hands belonged to a human. He had only tried picking out Sasuke's blood, relieved when he couldn't.

What if he had done it?

What if he had killed a human?

Could he really still claim to be a human too if he had?

"I…I can't…"

"Please…"

"I'm sorry," he said in a rush of words before turning around and running into the village, sniffing the air, trying to catch the familiar scent of his lover.

_Sasuke…_


	9. No longer human

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 9: **No longer human

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

Bits of the end were chopped out but it was written to be vague though. If you wanna read the whole thing anyway, go to my y!gal.

**Author's Note: **So… I listened to Nightwish's Imaginaerum album while writing this, most specifically the instrumentals of the songs. ^^; I pretty much had the instrumental for The Crow, the Owl and the Dove on repeat for a lot of this. So good.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

The things Naruto saw were horrible beyond words. He looked everywhere for Sasuke. He searched every corner of the village before finally going to the barn, shocked at what he found there.

First there was a body outside of the barn that he recognized, though he couldn't believe his eyes. There, with his hair undone and covering his face, was Itachi. Naruto hadn't spoken much to the man, couldn't say they were close, but he knew that he was cherished by Sasuke. He immediately bent over and checked the man's pulse, only to find that he was no longer among the living. The thing that surprised him most about his death though, was that there were no gashes made from claws or fangs. The wounds were made by another human, and an enraged one at that. It was overkill. He had been stabbed so many times, Naruto couldn't count.

He didn't have to wait to find out who his killer was. The man was no longer in the area; he had apparently escaped, though not unscathed. There was blood trailing from the barn towards the forest where the man had probably taken shelter. Naruto recognized the scent right away.

Fugaku.

He had killed his own son.

_Why_?

How _could_ he?

_But then…what about Sasuke? _

He could smell him, but it was…different. He peeked into the barn and cringed at seeing Kiba's body there. Who had killed him? Had it been Sasuke, Itachi, or Fugaku? He supposed it didn't matter anymore. The man was dead. No wonder his pack was demolishing the village.

Naruto's eyes trailed from Kiba's body to the blood coating the ground. It was Sasuke's. There was something different in it, something changed. The blood left a trail leading outside of the barn; each drop seemed to smell a bit more different. His nose flared and he knew what the difference was, but he didn't want to believe it.

"Naruto!"

Starting, Naruto's head snapped back to see familiar jade eyes gazing at him. The eyes were neither shocked nor angry, but morose and…another emotion he wasn't able to pick out. It made his heart clench for the owner of those eyes, for she had been a very near and dear friend to him. But that fairy tale ended long ago. The fairy tale of when he chased after a pretty girl, thinking he was in love when he knew now it was just a childish crush. The book had been closed and a new one had opened. Only this book wasn't filled with laughter and joy, it was filled with screams and anguish, and yet… Sasuke. He made everything bearable by merely existing. He felt lighter in Sasuke's arms, like he hadn't lost everything but instead gained something precious and irreplaceable.

Needless to say, his infatuation with Sakura had long since ended, but that didn't mean he stopped caring.

She was his friend. His heart still recognized her as that.

"So it's true. You are alive…" Her eyes narrowed but her voice quivered. "I knew it. I knew he was lying all this time."

Naruto stepped forward, reaching out to do or say something but he had no idea what. Nothing was okay and he wasn't so sure anything was going to ever be okay again. But before he could say anything at all, she brought her own bow and arrow up and aimed it straight for his heart, making him freeze.

"Stay back," she growled through clenched teeth. "You're…you're one of them! And you…you killed Lee and Ino and who _knows_ how many others!"

Naruto's eyes widened at that.

What?

He had killed Lee and Ino?

"No… I couldn't have done that. Come on Sakura, it's me. I could never kill anyone!" Naruto said almost desperately as he stepped towards her again, only to have an arrow fly at him and almost cut his cheek.

"I said stay back! I mean it!" She quickly got another arrow out, her hands trembling, which was probably the only reason why she missed. She was serious. "Sasuke couldn't do it, but I _can_." _And I will, _went left unsaid, but Naruto saw it in her eyes.

She planned to kill him.

Naruto's heart thumped harshly in his chest. He couldn't let Sakura kill him, not just because he wanted to live, but because of Sasuke. He was out there somewhere. Wounded and possibly alone and being hunted by his father. Oh god, Sasuke was going through the transformation…Naruto held back a shudder at the mere memory of how that felt.

Just as he was about to jump back and run into the forest, using the trees as cover until he lost her, he saw a large body covered in thick fur behind her. Sakura's reflexes were slow due to the shock and grief she was no doubt experiencing. She probably felt more than heard the large body land behind her. Naruto could feel the slight vibration on the ground as well. Werewolves weren't exactly light. They were the size of two grown men and made of muscle made for stalking, chasing, and killing prey.

Slowly, Sakura turned with wide eyes at the creature. Saliva dripped from its mouth onto the ground as it looked at Sakura with hunger and hate in its eyes.

Regaining herself, Sakura swirled on her feet, but the large paw swiped at her bow, breaking it in half. Sakura shouted as she fell back and reached into her boot for her knife, probably prepared to fight to the death.

Naruto wasn't about to let that happen.

He had no plans in just standing there and watching his friend die right in front of his eyes.

He _wasn't_ a monster!

With movements too fast to be human, Naruto jumped behind Sakura and hooked his arms under her shoulders, then jumped back just as the beast swiped at them. Naruto dashed towards the forest, the werewolves finally reaching the barn— to gather around Kiba's body, no doubt. Luckily for them, they seemed more concerned with his corpse than chasing them.

As soon as they were far enough into the forest, Naruto stopped and let go of Sakura. He was surprised when she just dropped to the ground, on her knees with her back hunched and her head bowed. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes, torn between wanting to comfort her and wanting to find Sasuke. He could smell him, traces of him, and his body was pointed in the direction of where the scent led, ready to go.

But was that right?

"Go," Sakura said, her voice stronger. She slowly lifted her head to look at him with an expression of mixed emotions. She clenched her teeth and looked at him with anger…but was crying, showing her grief over all of what she lost in the span of a night. Her parents, her friends, her home…

Naruto knew that feeling all too well.

"Go," Sakura repeated. "I'll let you go this once, but don't misunderstand. I _will_ come after you."

Swallowing, Naruto backed up and then took off in the direction of where he thought Sasuke would be. In the distance, he heard Sakura scream her last words to him.

"I'll find you! _I'll kill you_!"

**~*SN*~**

When Sasuke first came to, he felt surrounded. It was as if there were eyes watching him from everywhere. His senses kept going back and forth between being blurry and blocked to being so clear he could hear everything that was going on around him. He could hear the slithering and hissing of the snakes, the footsteps of other predators, the wind moving the grass and leaves. Everything. It all sounded so frighteningly close to him that he forced himself back up from the ground and ran deeper into unknown territory.

Sasuke's consciousness was freed from all emotional concerns and worries. It was as if Naruto and Itachi were cleansed from his mind, along with his guilt and shame. His instincts took complete control and convinced the emotional part of his brain that survival was the only thing of importance at the moment. There would be time to worry later, now he just needed to get somewhere where he could feel safe enough to let his body rest, because he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to move.

He had thrown up numerous times and it left his throat burning, though the after taste wasn't as noticeable as the dryness. His tongue felt sticky and thick. Swallowing became harder as more time passed but he didn't know if there was any source of water close by.

By the time he fell face first onto the ground, he was relieved that his stomach seemed completely emptied. The nausea was passing. It was still there, but he could ignore it. Opening his eyes narrowly, he saw a black circle in front of him. A hole? Clawing at the ground, he managed to drag himself near it. It wasn't much, but he felt the pressure of the narrow space against his sides and found comfort in it. He just wanted to be out of sight. He was safe if they couldn't see or reach him. So he wiggled himself in further until his surroundings wrapped tightly around him like a security blanket.

Feeling more secure, his mind allowed itself to shut off as he drifted away.

When he regained consciousness for the second time, he felt something cold on his forehead. His eyes were slits as he tried to open them, but found that he was still exhausted despite feeling as if he had been asleep for hours. He saw someone, a blurry figure with light hair that looked a mess. An eye peered down at him, seeming calculating. He tried to focus on it, but a sharp pain pierced through his body and he was taken back to a world of complete darkness, blissfully unaware of his body and surroundings.

It felt like no time at all had passed between then and the next time he opened his eyes, a little wider this time. He inhaled deeply and noted that he didn't feel so hot anymore. He felt sore, but overall a lot better. Unconsciously, his hand reached up to his shoulder but felt nothing but skin.

But his shoulder...hadn't he been attacked?

Wasn't he wounded?

"Finally awake, are you?"

Starting, Sasuke quickly rose to a sitting position and looked over to see a man with messy silver hair, one eye was open while the other remained closed, a scar seeming to seal it shut. His skin was fair and Sasuke's nostrils flared as he took in his scent before stopping himself, wondering at the action. He had never really cared nor paid attention to how someone smelled before, save for Naruto when Sasuke's face was pressed into his neck.

_Naruto…_

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stood up, feeling perfectly fine, as if he hadn't spent however long it had been blacking out from pain. But he couldn't think about that anymore, his eyes scanned the area for a familiar pair of blue eyes only to come up empty. He couldn't deny the guilt in his heart at having forgotten about him, even for a minute.

How could he forget about Naruto?

And not just Naruto…

_Itachi_.

Had he really left him there with his father?

Was he…

A sharp pain shot through his head and he grabbed at it, wobbling a bit as he groaned. He almost jumped when he felt hands on his shoulders, as if helping him keep steady.

"Calm down. You probably feel better, but you're still in a fragile state. So whatever you're thinking about to get yourself worked up, it's not going to do you any good. Whatever's happened has passed," came the soothing voice from behind him.

Breathing harder than he had been a few moments ago, Sasuke looked over his shoulder and at his savior.

"I know you," he realized. The man looked so familiar. He _knew_ he knew him…but he couldn't place his face.

"You do." The man had a scarf wrapped around his neck, covering the bottom half of his face, but the fabric moved a little and he wondered if he was smiling. "It's been a long time, Sasuke."

Sasuke closed his eyes, vaguely remembering hearing that voice say his name once before. The memory was so blurry though. He…sort of remembered hearing the voice around his mother. But there was nothing after that, which meant… Sasuke looked back into the man's eye, his own widening a bit as understanding dawned on him.

"You're not human," he accused.

"Neither are you."

Sasuke swallowed. He wanted to deny it, to shout that he was. He was no different than last night. He didn't feel…_too_ different. It was just that…everything was clearer and all of his senses were heightened. He tried not to focus on all of what his senses were picking up; instead he tried to put his focus into the man in front of him.

"You probably don't remember me very well. My name is Kakashi. I was a friend of your mother."

His mother. She had been a werewolf. His conversation with his father was coming back to him and before he knew it, he was sitting back down and leaning back against a tree. He stared at the ground, not really looking at anything as his mind tried to wrap around all of what he had learned.

"You…came to the village with her?" he found himself asking with no emotion in his voice.

_My mother was a werewolf from the start. She wanted to change the whole village, so father killed her. And then, last night, he tried to…he almost…_

_Itachi…_

"I did. I came with her, Minato, and another who you probably don't remember. Rin kept to herself in the village."

"You were…all a pack?"

"No. Mikoto had come from another pack that had been killed. Minato was the head of the pack I was in. We had both lost a lot and needed to find a new family, so to speak. We came to your village hoping to change a few humans there." Kakashi sighed and sat back down as well, across from Sasuke, who felt the need to scoot away from him but stayed still. "Minato had changed Kushina before the full moon and was going to change Naruto that night. Your mother was going to change you and the rest of your family that night as well."

Sasuke remembered his father's tale, hearing it from a stranger only confirmed what he already knew. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. His emotions were all over the place and it just made him feel drained. He wanted to close in on himself, another part of him wanted to get more answers, and then another wanted to just leave to find Naruto and Itachi. But for some reason, his legs wouldn't move, so he decided to confirm and ask a few things.

"You were the werewolf that got away that night, the one that ran."

"I regret it almost every day," Kakashi replied sadly. "But my friends had already been killed and Minato had told me to run. I've been on my own since that night."

Sasuke lifted his head to look at him wearily. "Where did you all even come from?"

"Where did humans come from? We don't know where the first werewolf came from, or how the 'disease' came about to begin with. Not that we see it as a disease." He sighed and tilted his head back and continued, "Your village isn't the only one in the world though. This forest leads to many places, many villages, some even bigger with houses made of stone, towns, they're called. There's life everywhere but you have to travel quite a bit to get there. The way humans treat our kind differs depending on where you go. Sometimes if the place is big enough, we can hide amongst the humans there. Though there are people who hunt us, like yours, or they fear us so much that they do whatever they can to avoid us. They lock their doors and hide under their beds in hopes that we won't take their family. Sometimes we even come across humans who worship us, though that's rare. It's more common for people to fear and want to kill us than anything else."

Sasuke stayed silent. He didn't know how to respond to the new information that was given to him. It had crossed his mind several times. Were there other people aware of the werewolves, other villages? Did they kill them with weapons made of silver as well?

Now he had his answer.

Suddenly Kakashi turned his head and sniffed the air. "Ah, it looks like someone's looking for you."

Blinking, Sasuke stared at Kakashi and then turned in the same direction. "How do you know?" And who was looking for him? Was it his father, Itachi…Naruto?

Kakashi stood up and gave Sasuke a serious expression. "If you want, I can help you control your transformations. I somehow always knew you'd be changed and…I owe it to Minato and Mikoto. She may not have been a part of our pack, but we became like distant relatives and I…" He looked away, unable to say what he thought aloud. Sasuke empathized. "Meet up with me here tomorrow. I'll give you and your companion a night to talk about it. I won't wait longer than a day for you though. If you don't show tomorrow, I'll leave this area, for good this time." His eyes cast a sad glance in the direction of the village. "It's over now."

Sasuke was barely listening to him anymore. Kakashi seemed to recognize the one who was searching for him which made him fairly sure of who it was. For the first time since he saw those blue eyes in the forest, he let out a breath of relief. Kakashi left him there and Sasuke took a few extra seconds to just breathe, forcing his thoughts to stay on Naruto and not wander to more dangerous areas. Every now and then though, guilt assaulted his heart and he felt a piercing pain start from his chest before traveling to his limbs. Swallowing the feelings down, he forced himself on his feet and took off in the direction Kakashi had looked when talking about his companion.

**~*SN*~**

Naruto pressed his hand against the bark of a tree and let himself have a breather. He had been running for hours without a break. How far had Sasuke _gone_? He could smell his scent though, closer than ever. Just a little longer and he'd be within reach. That thought alone kept him straightening back up and continuing forward.

But what would he say when he found him? How could he tell him about Itachi and the village? Did he already know? Naruto didn't even know how he felt about what he had learned. He didn't have time to sort out his own feelings, too overwhelmed by the urge to find his partner.

When he stopped again it was to look at the ground. There was a trail of someone being dragged out of a tiny hole by the tree. It looked like a den for a fox, but there was no sign of one in the area. Naruto could smell Sasuke's scent coming from it. He had probably crawled in there to hide; they were in a shifty part of the forest, though it wasn't as bad during the day as it was at night. But it looked like someone had come and dragged him out of the hole. He could pick up a faint trace of the other person and knew it was a werewolf.

He had taken Sasuke deeper into the forest? What if it was a member of another pack? He hadn't seen others besides Kiba's in the area, but was there more?

Shaking his head, he straightened back up and sniffed the air. Sasuke was close. Very close. In fact, he seemed to be…moving closer… Happiness bubbled in his chest at that as he rushed forward, intending to meet him half way.

When his eyes finally locked on those magnetizing grays that looked like black onyx, he stopped, breathing hard. Sasuke stopped as well and they spent some time just watching each other, taking comfort in the knowledge that the other was alive and well. From what Naruto could see, Sasuke's wound, wherever it had been, was healed. There was blood staining his clothes, seeming to come from his shoulder, but there was no fresh blood.

Licking his lips, he dragged his eyes all over Sasuke's body, taking relief in it being in one piece. No missing limbs or scarred areas. Once he gave his body a once over, he lifted his gaze back to his eyes and moved closer, intent on closing the distance between them and relish in the feeling of having Sasuke in his arms. Alive and well.

**~*SN*~**

Sasuke returned Naruto's gaze, feeling light with relief, as if a huge worry had been shrugged off his shoulders. Naruto was alive and he had come looking for him, had found him. His scent filled his senses and he found a comfort in it. It was distinct and intimate. His fingers itched to reach out and grab at him, to pull him closer and take comfort in the familiarity of his body.

Of course, Naruto was the first one to move, as always. Sasuke knew this well enough because his feet were planted to the ground. But soon the distance was closed and he was enveloped in warm arms. He quickly returned the embrace, one arm around Naruto's shoulders and the other around his waist, mimicking the way Naruto held him. He buried his face in Naruto's neck and shuddered. His scent was so strong. It was as if he was getting familiar with parts he had known all over again. Exhaling softly, he shivered when Naruto kissed the crook of his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut as his fingers itched to touch Naruto everywhere. But there would be time for that later. It wasn't as if he could go back to the village. There was nothing to separate them anymore. Sasuke wasn't particularly okay with the turn of events, but there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to force himself to move forward.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I saw the blood and –" Naruto was cut off when Sasuke dug his fingernails into his skin, almost breaking the skin.

"You went to the village?" he asked into Naruto's shoulder.

"I – well yeah – but I was worried about you! I smelled blood and when I got to the village everyone was –" this time he cut himself off, closing his mouth so fast Sasuke could hear his teeth click.

Sasuke pulled away, grabbing Naruto's shoulders. "Everyone was _what_, Naruto?"

He had to know.

What had he left his village behind to suffer?

"I…I'm sorry…Sasuke…" Naruto looked down and grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist, lightly. "The village is gone. Everyone…"

Swallowing, Sasuke managed to whisper his brother's name, "…Itachi?" But Naruto didn't need to say anything. He knew by the look in his eyes what the truth was.

Itachi was gone.

Sasuke's hands fell from Naruto's shoulders and lowered his eyes to the ground.

His brother had saved his life, but had been killed. It was most likely by his father's hand. Anger, shame, guilt, regret, and sadness swirled around inside of him. He was unable to speak and his vision was getting blurry again. But when he blinked and felt his cheeks become damp, he knew it wasn't because of the change. His jaw tightened and he fisted his hands. He wanted…

It didn't matter what he wanted.

He was completely worthless. He had abandoned his brother and ran like a coward. Why didn't Itachi just run away with him? Couldn't he have come too? Or did he… Did Itachi not _want_ to live this life anymore?

"Sasuke?" Naruto called softly, touching his arm, no doubt trying to figure out a way to comfort him. But there was nothing he could say or do to bring Itachi back, so Sasuke didn't really want to hear it. He stepped away from Naruto and turned his back to him.

"You look tired. We should find some place to rest," he said, not wanting to feel anything, but unable to help it. His voice had been strong at the beginning but trembled at the end and he hated himself for it. Naruto seemed to understand that he didn't want to talk though, so they walked in silence. Sasuke had never ventured this deeply into the forest and didn't really know where he was going, so after only a few minutes Naruto gave his arm a tug and began leading them somewhere he deemed safe.

The walk was quiet as Sasuke took time to absorb what he was told. Itachi and his home were gone. What about the people? Was everyone dead? Was Sakura dead? And his father…had he escaped? Was he going to hunt Sasuke? His heart ached at the thought. He and his father had never been all that close. They never had any heart to heart conversations or many conversations at all, actually. There was always a wall between him and his father, between his father and Itachi as well. Maybe it was because his mother wasn't human.

His mother… She had been murdered. Sasuke had never questioned the motives but now that he was changed, he wondered if it really would have been so bad had she changed them. Maybe if everyone in the village had been changed that night things would be better. But he supposed there was no point in thinking of those things. Why couldn't he stop himself from pondering useless things?

Forcing his mind to focus on something else, he looked at Naruto's back and thought about how he was all he had left. No matter what happened from this point on, they would stick together. Sasuke wouldn't make the same mistake twice. If his father came for them, he wouldn't leave Naruto behind, even if Naruto screamed at him to.

"We can sleep here tonight," Naruto said, stopping to sniff the air. He was more used to his sense than Sasuke was. He wasn't even sure what Naruto was sniffing for.

"Okay."

Sasuke looked around them and saw that they were in a clearing, but it was different than the one he was at before. He could faintly hear the sound of water nearby and thought about taking a bath in the morning. He was feeling too drained to do anything besides lay down. The ground was hard and he heard Naruto curse as he got a rock out from behind his back as they lay close. Their arms brushed slightly and made Sasuke sigh with relief. This one person was still alive, wasn't going anywhere.

Without realizing it, Sasuke brushed his knuckles against Naruto's, not taking his eyes off the darkening sky. He wondered if Naruto was looking at him, but that thought was chased away as Naruto turned his hand and grasped onto his own. The atmosphere was calm as Naruto's thumb rubbed his hand, yet he still felt melancholy. His heart, his body, felt heavy as if he had gained an extra five pounds to his weight with every step after hearing about the village. He wanted to scream, to punch something until his knuckles bled, to bite onto something until his jaw hurt, anything to get rid of this extra weight, to relieve the emotion building up inside of him.

"That kinda hurts," Naruto grunted from beside him and Sasuke looked down at their hands to see that he had been gripping it too tightly and dug his nails into the skin. The little crescent marks he left behind bled, but only a little.

Letting go of Naruto's hand, Sasuke mumbled, "Sorry," and placed his hand on his stomach. "Guess I need to get used to not being so weak compared to you anymore," he said lightly, wanting to lift the mood.

But Naruto's eyes weren't playful as he cupped his face, lifting himself up on his elbow. "You were never weak, Sasuke. You're the strongest guy I know."

Sasuke tried to look away but Naruto gripped his chin and kept their eyes locked.

"Don't. It's okay. You don't have to hide whatever you're going through from me, whatever you're thinking or feeling. I've already been through it, remember? I know exactly how you feel. How it feels to lose everything in one night, to have everything suddenly change. During those months I was alone, everything was hard. Just getting up and moving around was hard. Going to you that night is the smartest thing I've ever done. It wasn't until I was there with you, feeling your back pressed against mine, that I could just _breathe_ again. You made dealing with everything easier, made _living_ bearable. Let me do the same for you."

Sasuke closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose as Naruto's hand moved from his chin to brush the hair from his cheek. He reached up and grabbed onto Naruto's wrist before rolling over until he was on top of Naruto. He placed one knee between Naruto's legs and the other near his outer thigh, then leaned down until their mouths were lightly touching.

"I can't lose you," Sasuke whispered against his lips.

"You'll never lose me. You're kind of stuck with me forever."

"Promise me." Sasuke wasn't a fool. He knew there was no way to keep such a promise. But he wanted to be reassured anyway. He wanted to be promised that this one person would never be taken from him.

"I promise."

Naruto's tongue came out to lick Sasuke's upper lip. Sasuke responded by wrapping his lips around it and sucking gently, closing his eyes and pressing against Naruto's mouth. He moved his right leg between Naruto's legs to join the other before settling down on top of his body. He relished in the feel of Naruto's hard body under his, his free hand feeling his muscled stomach. Naruto hadn't put a shirt on, just pants. It seemed he had been in a rush to get to Sasuke as well. He remembered that, remembered how desperate he had been to see Naruto after the night of the full moon. He hated to admit it, and would never do so out loud, but he had been terrified for him. When he saw those blue eyes on that werewolf, he knew who it was. He also remembered it being his own fault Naruto had been out there. If anything had happened to him while he was out, Sasuke would never forgive himself.

But he was there, beneath him, pressed against him, safe and sound.

Sasuke forced his mind to focus on that fact alone. It helped.

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed as he looked down and cradled his lover's face in his hands. Something passed between them as they stared into each other's eyes. An understanding, perhaps. He leaned down and kissed Naruto gently, as if he was something precious. But wasn't he? He was all he had left in the world and he loved him more than anything. Naruto was the one he couldn't kill, even though he knew the consequences would be severe if anyone found out. He was the one who he could never push away or live without, even though he knew how risky it was to have those late night visits.

But they were worth it. He was worth it.

He kissed Naruto's jaw before lying at his side. His left arm draped over Naruto's middle and he closed his eyes, simply listening to Naruto's breathing. It slowly began to steady and before long, he knew Naruto was sleeping. He had muttered, "Everything will be alright," before allowing himself to fall asleep. Sasuke wasn't sure how long he had been asleep while his body changed, but he guessed it had been quite some time since Naruto slept any.

He hadn't told him about Kakashi, hadn't told him about their parents. Would he? Would it really make a difference? But Sasuke didn't want to hide anything from Naruto. It didn't feel much different than lying. Besides, he would take Naruto to see Kakashi in the morning, after they got cleaned up.

Where they would go from there, though, he had no idea.

His mind replayed what Kakashi had told him about how werewolves were treated in different areas. The words bounced around his head before slowly fading as his body gave into its exhaustion. His body felt sated and relaxed as he drifted off into sleep.


	10. The hunter and the hunted

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 10: **A vicious cycle of the hunter and the hunted

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **So there's only one more chapter after this, hopefully. I'm sort of…sad to say that as I really love this story but…well, all things must come to an end I suppose. As for this chapter, mmm, the ending was sort of hard to write but the beginning was very enjoyable.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

When Sasuke woke up, Naruto was cuddled against him. His blond hair tickled his skin, his lover's head tucked under his chin and pillowed on Sasuke's upper arm. Strong arms were wrapped around his waist and their legs were tangled. Slowly, Sasuke moved his arm from under Naruto's head and stretched. He held in a groan at the tingling feeling. Due to being under Naruto's head, his arm had fallen asleep and he always hated the process of waking it up. Even if it wasn't the worst feeling in the world, it was still annoying.

Once his arm felt normal again, he laid it back on the ground and softly sighed. His head ached, though the pain was minor, and his eyes felt heavy. He hadn't slept well at all. Itachi and the people from his village haunted his dreams, as well as his father who chased and killed him again and again. Each time Sasuke died, he woke up, feeling like his heart was breaking apart. He would then look at Naruto's sleeping face. It calmed him for some reason. And each time he woke up, Naruto, as if sensing he needed comforting, was closer to him. After awhile of focusing on Naruto's presence next to him, he would drift back off to sleep, only for the nightmare to start over again.

Swallowing, Sasuke wondered how long it would be before he was cleansed of this guilt, pain, anger, and fear. Surely it would pass as time went on, but how much time? He found himself eager for those feelings to go away and was willing to shove them to the corner of his mind and ignore them. He just…couldn't _deal_ with them. He didn't want to.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Naruto stirred and slowly arose from sleep. Rolling onto his back, Naruto yawned and scratched at his stomach, only to pause and grimace at the mess he found there. Sasuke watched as his lover's brain began to wake up with his body, emotions flitting through his eyes before he finally turned to look at Sasuke with a frown.

"Hey," he said, almost cautiously.

"Hey."

Naruto rolled to his side and cupped Sasuke's cheek with the hand that wasn't messy.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke was about to say that he was, but for some reason the words wouldn't leave his mouth. His throat felt clogged even though it was fine just moments ago. He realized he didn't want to lie to Naruto and that if he told him he was fine, he would be lying to him.

"I will be," he finally settled on.

"Anything I can do?"

"Help me find somewhere we can wash off." He paused to look at their discarded clothes, covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. "Maybe we should find something else to wear too."

"The wolves are probably out of the village. I mean, if you're okay with going there to check…"

Would he be?

Did he really even have much of a choice? Where else would they get new clothes?

"We'll go."

"Are you sure? I could go there myself and get them, then come back." But even as he said it, his hand on Sasuke's hip tightened. He probably wasn't even aware of the action, but Sasuke understood. He wasn't too keen on the idea of them parting for any reason either, not after just finding each other and after everything that had happened…no. Sasuke didn't want him out of his sight nor did he want to be left alone with his thoughts. Naruto was always a pleasant distraction.

"I'll be fine," he insisted as he sat up. Naruto let go of his hip and sat up with him. Looking at his clothes, he almost grimaced. It would feel too strange to go back to the village buck naked and he supposed the state of his clothes shouldn't bother him too much, since his body wasn't much better. He felt dirty and couldn't wait to get new clothes and bathe. It also didn't help that his sense of smell was ten times better now. Despite how much he enjoyed Naruto's scent, usually, he couldn't deny that they both desperately needed to wash themselves.

They decided not to waste any time looking for food and ran to the village. It was exhilarating, how fast he could run. Nevertheless, it still took them a good portion of the morning to enter the village, which was…decimated. There wasn't a single soul left alive and the ground was piled with bodies of the people he had grown up with, who had hunted with him. His heart twisted harshly at the sight and he immediately came to halt.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder, and he wondered if it was as hard on him. Naruto probably recognized most of the faces himself, save for the children who were born after he left. But he had been away from the village for so long… He wondered if he still held any emotional attachment to the people who would have killed him on sight.

Maybe so, maybe not. Either way, he didn't want to ask.

"I will be," he said for the second time that day, wondering how many more times he'd have to say it.

Naruto gave him a few moments to collect himself and decided that it would be proper to bury the bodies. He wondered if Naruto knew not to burn them, that Sasuke absolutely hated that. Sasuke watched him dig the holes and drag the bodies into them, watched as their faces were covered by the earth. Maybe one day his village would disappear and become one with the forest, the bodies of his family becoming fertilizer for the grass to grow.

As Naruto disappeared to go around the village and bury bodies, he wondered if he would bury Itachi too and when he would get to him. But he couldn't' think of that. If he did it would be his undoing. He didn't want to see Itachi's body or think of how many shots it took to take him down. Instead he focused on reeling his emotions in a black box and shoved it into the corner of his mind, where he wouldn't have to deal with it. When he felt he could breathe again without feeling the urge to vomit at the smell of death, Naruto had come back with dirty hands. He honestly couldn't wait until they could cleanse themselves in some water. Maybe even cleanse this entire experience off of his being. How wonderful that would be.

"That didn't take long," Sasuke commented. "Did you…bury them all?"

Naruto grimaced. "As many as I could find…"

"What does that mean?"

Naruto looked off to the side and mumbled, "There were body parts that were so torn up…I just gathered them all up and dug a deeper hole to put them in."

Sasuke ignored the sharp sting in his chest and looked at the destroyed houses. He wondered if there were any bodies buried under them. He didn't want to ask more of Naruto and didn't want to see their faces himself, so he looked away, feeling comforted when Naruto pressed against his side, as if sensing how hard this was on him.

"There should be some clothes for us at my house."

Naruto rubbed his back. "Okay."

When they got to his home, they had to dig for the clothes. His house was ruined too so it took them quite awhile to find his broken dresser, then a few more minutes trying to find decent clothes for them to wear. Sasuke found a pack from where his closet used to be and stuffed it full of clothes. He hesitated as he came across some bottles and jars that were still intact and filled with medicine, but figured they wouldn't need that now. Their bodies seemed to heal pretty well on their own, so he packed more clothes.

After Naruto went to search if there was any food they could salvage, Sasuke came across one his or his brother's bow and arrows. The bow was broken apart and so were most of the arrows, all but the silver ended tips. Sasuke stared at the tip, wondering how it felt to be pierced by silver and had an insane and masochistic urge to run his finger along the tip, to press down until he bled.

He reached out to run a finger along the silver, hissing when it burned his skin and quickly bringing his finger up to his face to inspect it. It was a small burn, but it still hurt like hell. He was about to put his finger in his mouth when Naruto grabbed his wrist.

"Don't. You'll make yourself sick," Naruto said, looking at his finger and arrow tip in disapproval, and then at him with concern. "Why did you do that? Are you _trying_ to hurt yourself, or kill yourself?"

"I was curious." Sasuke stood up and shook Naruto off. "It's not that big of a deal. It's not like I stabbed myself with it."

Naruto frowned. "No, but…you can make yourself really sick, Sasuke!"

"It won't be fatal, will it?"

"No, but –"

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Did you get any food?"

Naruto's shoulder slumped and he sighed deeply. "Not really. I mean, there were some apples and stuff, but we won't really have a taste for them. We need meat and I couldn't find any that was still good. I mean, either it had been sitting out or covered in dirt and…other things."

"Alright, let's go and find somewhere to clean up then."

"Let me see if I can find any bandages for your finger though. Since it's a burn made by silver, it won't heal as fast."

Once Naruto got some bandages and they were sure they had everything they could take from the village, they left for the stream close to the village. It was where the kids – and even some adults – played on hot days.

"It's been a long time since I've been here," Naruto stated as he kicked his pants off. Sasuke began undressing as well, throwing the clothes wherever, not caring since he had absolutely no intention to wear them ever again. Even if they did wash them out, they were stained with memories that water could never wash away.

They went in the water and shuddered as their bodies grew accustomed to the cool temperature. It felt good against his burnt finger though, which had been aching since he burned it. Naruto was the first to dunk his head, scrubbing at it when he was under in the attempt to get the dirt out. Sasuke could feel some clumps of something in his hair as well and did the same, making sure to keep his wounded finger away so it didn't touch anything. When they were done scrubbing at their bodies, Sasuke decided to bring up their next destination.

"Naruto."

Rising from the water, he shook his head like a wet dog and answered, "Yeah?"

"There's somewhere we need to go, someone we need to meet."

"Eh? Who?" He asked as he rubbed the water from his face.

"Kakashi." He waited for Naruto to recognize the name, but his face didn't change. "He used to live in the village with us."

"Oh! That guy?" Naruto scrunched his mouth to the side. "But wait, didn't he disappear or something?"

"He's a werewolf."

"Oh…wait, he escaped the burning?"

"Yes. And Naruto…" He bit his lip; he didn't really want to talk about the rest of what he had learned. He didn't want to deal with it anymore, didn't want to think of it, but he also felt Naruto had the right to know. Besides, he didn't want Naruto to first hear it from Kakashi, if he were to bring it up. He felt he should prepare him just in case it would be mentioned.

"What is it?" Naruto swam over to him and pressed against his side again. Maybe it comforted him too.

"Our parents were werewolves," he blurted.

Naruto stiffened, but merely said, "Yeah…I know. That's why they were burned."

"No. That's not what I mean."

And Sasuke told him everything. He told him about their parents coming to the village, how they had been werewolves from the start, and how they were almost changed together as small boys…_everything_. When he was done, he looked down at the water. He could see tiny fish swimming around, some giving him a curious nibble before hurriedly swimming away.

Naruto moved away from him and went back to the land. Noticing the goose bumps on his arms, Sasuke followed. When he looked at Naruto, he was looking down. His fists and jaw were clenched and he was keeping his eyes away from Sasuke, though he could imagine the emotions running through them. Naruto had always known something was amiss with their parents' death and had always blamed the village for it, probably more now. Sasuke had given him the answers he had sought as a child and wished he didn't have them.

"So...Kakashi will help us with our transformations?" Naruto said after some time, but there were still hints of hurt and anger in his strained voice. Sasuke could empathize. He hadn't exactly been thrilled to learn of his mother's death either. Maybe Naruto hated his father now. Did Sasuke hate him, though? He wanted to…he _really_ wanted to…

"Yes. It's convenient, since I wouldn't know what to do with us otherwise. I don't suppose we could just lock each other up."

Naruto gave a quick nod. "Yeah."

Sasuke tilted his head and looked at the sky. Sunlight peeked through the branches and leaves and he wondered what time it was, or how long it would take them to get there. He always had a good memory, so he knew exactly where to go. His mind was already making a mental map of the new places he had been to.

"We need to leave now then. I'm not sure how long it'll take us to get there."

"Shouldn't be too long," Naruto said as an afterthought, not fully with him, too lost in his own mind just like Sasuke was. He supposed he should comfort Naruto, like Naruto did the other night. But what could he say or do? Despite what Naruto said, he didn't feel they should be wasting time. They should get to Kakashi as soon as possible before he left. Besides, he himself didn't want to talk about it, so maybe Naruto didn't either. Maybe he was putting it all away to deal with later – or never – like Sasuke had.

They took some time getting dressed. Sasuke wore black pants, shirt, and laced boots, used to having clothes that blended with the darkness of the night. Naruto wore the same. Naruto wrapped a bandage around Sasuke's finger once they were covered and afterwards, Sasuke led the way to where Kakashi would be waiting for them. The run was quiet and he wasn't sure how long it took. They stopped here and there for Sasuke to try and recall which direction to go, then took off again. When they finally got to the spot, Kakashi wasn't there.

"Maybe he's running late?" Naruto suggested, leaning back against a tree and sliding down to sit.

"Yeah." Sasuke's gut twisted unpleasantly, but he couldn't figure out why.

"So, he took care of you while you were transforming?" Naruto asked, almost hesitantly.

"Yes." Sasuke looked around for the hole he remembered dragging himself into before passing out, but couldn't find it anywhere. Faintly, he could hear the sound of a river and wondered if Kakashi had carried him to a place with water so he could keep him hydrated.

"I'm sorry. I should have been with you."

Sasuke turned to face him and then went over to sit next to him. Their sides touched and Naruto leaned against him, kissing his shoulder over the fabric.

"You were looking for me. I didn't realize how deeply into the forest I had gone." Sasuke looked up to the sky again, noting that there wasn't as much sunlight coming through to them. Night would be soon approaching. "I just hope Kakashi didn't leave already."

"He told you he'd stay until nightfall, right?"

"Yes. He said he'd wait today and leave tomorrow if we didn't show."

"Hmm, maybe he got held up by something or ran into trouble?"

"Should we go look for him?"

"But what if he comes when we're gone?" Naruto frowned, picking his head up from his shoulder and sitting straight.

"Alright, we'll wait for a little longer then." Sasuke leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep. His body still demanded rest but his mind would refuse it until they saw Kakashi.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto spoke after some time had passed, nudging his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sasuke grunted. "Talk about what?"

"The transformation. I mean, I know it wasn't pleasant…"

"I really don't, Naruto." He turned his head away from Naruto, eyes still closed, and inhaled deeply. He didn't want to think about that time. How he felt, what he did…

"Then what about our parents? Do you want to talk about that?"

Sasuke opened his eyes then and looked at his lover. "Do _you_?" he asked quietly.

"I…don't know…"

"Hn."

"I'm not sure how to feel. I mean, is it…wrong of me to wish we had all just been changed then? Then maybe we could all still be together and none of this would have happened! It's all –" he stopped himself then, biting onto his bottom lip, but Sasuke knew what he was about to say because he had felt the same thing.

"It's all my father's fault."

Naruto grabbed onto his hand.

"I just wish things didn't get so fucked up."

Sasuke gave his hand a squeeze. "I know."

"I kind of want to punch him in the face and scream."

"Me too."

Naruto chuckled, though it sounded forced. "I can't imagine you screaming. You repress too much."

"I don't want to think about it." This time Sasuke leaned his head on Naruto's shoulder, his eyes feeling heavy.

"Okay." Naruto kissed the top of his head. "You tired?"

"I shouldn't be." But he could feel himself drifting off, his mind becoming foggy.

"It's okay. You're probably going to be tired for a couple of days."

"Hnn…"

When Sasuke regained himself, it was with a start. He hadn't meant to doze off. One minute he just had his eyes closed, listening to Naruto's voice, his breathing, his heartbeat, his breathing, and then he was waking up. The sun was obviously setting but it wasn't completely dark out yet. Stifling a yawn, he looked over at Naruto to see him looking back with slight amusement.

"Awake now?"

"Hn." He looked around to see that Kakashi still was nowhere in sight. "He's still not here?"

"No. I think it's time we go and look."

Naruto stood and pulled Sasuke up by the hand. Stretching his legs, he thought of which direction to go. Since they had no leads to go on, they picked a path and walked it.

"So what's Kakashi like?"

"I don't know. I wasn't really paying too much attention to him."

"Well, was he nice?"

"He saved my life, so I assume so."

"What'd he look like?"

"Hmm, silver hair, a scar over one eye..." Sasuke paused, Naruto bumping into his back but not hard enough to move him.

"What is it? Why'd you stop?"

Sasuke's nostrils flared and his stomach twisted again. The strange increase in his senses made his head dizzy, but at the same time, everything was clear. He realized it was some sort of instinct telling him that something was wrong, that something dangerous was near. The scent wasn't unfamiliar to him though, and when he felt Naruto tense behind him, he knew he had picked up on it too.

"Is that…Kakashi?"

Sasuke's answer was a nod, and even though his instincts were telling him to turn around, he made a run for the direction that the smell was coming from. He heard Naruto call him, but ignored it. When he stopped, he crouched low and hid behind the bushes and trees. He moved as quietly as he could, slowly pushing the branches out of his way so he could see. When he could see, his lips parted in shock.

Kakashi was there, lying in a puddle of his own blood.

Quickly looking to make sure no one else was around, Sasuke pushed past the bushes and went to Kakashi. The earth curved down from the bush to his body like a slide. When he got to Kakashi's side, he dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse, only to find that he was as dead as his brother and everyone else.

Falling back on his bottom, he drew his knees up and rested his forearms on them, one hand covering his forehead. He felt mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Kakashi was their only hope to learn to control their transformations. What were they supposed to do now? Who would teach them? Why was _every_ little thing on this earth _against_ them?

He clenched his teeth and wanted nothing more than to scream and hit something – or some_one_.

Leaning forward, he looked over Kakashi's body to find out what exactly had killed him, his logic fighting with his emotions for control. It would be smart to know what got to him, so that they knew what to avoid. There were no arrows sticking out of him, but when Sasuke rolled Kakashi onto his stomach, he knew exactly how he died. The burns around the gashes along his body were made by a silver knife. Someone from his village had killed him, and he knew exactly who it was because some of his blood was dripping from Kakashi's teeth and down his chin.

He had been killed, but he seemed to have managed to get a few bites out of his killer before he fell. And his attacker was, of course, Fugaku.

He looked from Kakashi's body to the drops of blood leading away from them, each drop smelling a little different.

His father was infected.


	11. The paths we take

**In the Still of the Night**

**Chapter 11: ** The paths we take

**Pairing: **NaruSasuNaru

**Summary:** On full moon nights, Sasuke was a heartless killer who hunted werewolves. However, he lost himself in a deep passion on all of the other nights with the very thing he hunted.

**Author's Note: **So remember when I said this would be the last chapter? I lied. I'm a horrible liar. In my defense, I had hope, but honestly, I feel that if I were to fit everything in this chapter it would be cramped, rushed, or just very long. I've planned the rest of the fic though and so it _will_ be done in two chapters.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, not the characters or the fandom. I only own this piece of fan fiction which I make no profit from.

**~*NSN*~**

By the time Naruto caught up to him, Sasuke was digging a hole for Kakashi with his bare hands. He didn't look at Naruto, but he guessed he was looking at Kakashi's corpse. He heard Naruto moving around and knew he wouldn't miss the scent of his father's blood, nor the fact that it was changing. Naruto's silence worried him, and soon he had the hole dug up and was dragging Kakashi's body into it, trying not to look at him.

"He's dead," he heard Naruto say from behind him, his voice sounding small.

"Yes, and now my father is infected."

"Argh!"

Sasuke jumped and looked back in surprise when Naruto punched one of the trees. He continued to do so until his knuckles were red and swollen, while Sasuke's surprise faded and he became calm. He turned back to the task at hand and buried Kakashi, then directed his attention back to his lover who had his fist pressed against the bark and his head bowed. His other hand dangled at his side and his whole stance seemed to scream defeat to Sasuke. It wasn't something he particularly liked seeing.

"Naruto."

"I _hate_ this. We can't ever catch a break!" Naruto complained, sounding as if he was about to cry but holding it in. They were always holding their emotions in. Naruto had probably been holding everything back since the last full moon, and now, having their only hope for controlling their transformations gone, he broke. Sasuke could empathize. Maybe Naruto was releasing those pent up feelings for the both of them, because Sasuke couldn't.

Without another word, Sasuke went over to Naruto and wrapped his arms around him from behind. They ended up shifting until Naruto had his back against the tree and holding Sasuke against him, burying his face in Sasuke's neck. Sasuke rubbed his back and stroked his hair as he tilted his head up, staring at the black sky and the moon that looked almost full. He waited for Naruto to compose himself and kissed his temple when he felt something wet against his neck. There was nothing he could say though, nothing would make this better or okay. Not anything Sasuke could think of, anyway. They just had to find a way to deal with what had happened and move on.

"Sorry," Naruto whispered against his neck and placed a light kiss there before moving back. "I just…"

"I know."

Naruto's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We'll look for a new place to live. What else _can_ we do right now?"

"No, I mean about your father. What are we going to do about him?"

Sasuke frowned. He didn't want to think about his father, nor did he want to chase him down. The irony should have made him chuckle. His father was now in his position. He wondered if his father would commit suicide. It would make things easier for them, but the thought made his heart ache. He didn't want to care about his father though. He felt he was betraying his mother, brother, Naruto, and even himself by still caring about him, but he couldn't make the pain go away.

"Nothing." Sasuke stood and wiped the dirt off his pants.

"_Nothing_? But what if he comes after us?!"

"How long was I out, when I was changed?"

Naruto frowned and answered, "A couple of days."

"We can get a good head start on him. There's a good chance that he will never see us again."

"It's not just him we have to worry about," Naruto whispered. When Sasuke turned back to look at him in question, Naruto continued. "Sakura is hunting us too."

"Sakura…"

"She survived and…saw me. She knows I'm alive and a werewolf and made a pretty strong declaration that she wants to kill me, probably you too, once she finds out you're not human anymore either."

_You're not human anymore either…_

Sasuke's body tensed, his mind taking that as an insult, but he shook it off. It was the truth, on both accounts. Even if Sakura didn't realize he was a werewolf, maybe she would (rightfully) blame him for the lives Naruto took and want to punish him. He wasn't sure he had the will to face her now that she knew he'd been lying for years. He didn't want to hurt her; she was an important friend to the both of them. They would have to be careful not to run into her.

Still, at least she was alive. He wondered if Naruto got a comfort out of that. At least someone got out of the village alive and unchanged.

"We'll leave. We'll find somewhere to go that's far away from here. Kakashi told me that there were other places out there that don't hunt us. We should look for one of those places to live and go from there."

"What if they find us though? What if Sakura or your father catch up and try and kill us?"

Sasuke turned to Naruto and hardened his expression. "Then we'll do whatever we have to in order to get out of those encounters alive_." Even if we have to kill them_, went unsaid, but he knew Naruto would understand what he meant. He didn't want to kill them, but if it came to his father or Sakura's survival over Naruto's and his, then he would do what was necessary.

They stood over Kakashi's grave and wondered if they should say something. Sasuke felt the need to apologize, but didn't know why. He hadn't killed Kakashi, but a part of him felt as if he had to take responsibility for his father. He ignored that feeling though and realized he would have to beat it out of himself, so it would never get the chance to become a problem.

Naruto got to his knees and looked at the end of the grave with Kakashi's head and said, "Thank you for taking care of my Sasuke when I couldn't. I wish we could have met, but I hope you're in a better place now."

Was he in a better place?

Sasuke tilted his head to look up at the sky, narrowing his eyes as if trying to peer into the heavens, wondering if there was a place for werewolves. Were they even allowed in such a holy place?

Naruto stood back up and grasped Sasuke's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting it go, then they were off, looking for a new home.

**~*S*~**

After Naruto saved Sakura, she had run deep into the forest to get as far away from the chaos as she could. When she was far enough to not hear or smell the death around her anymore, she stopped for breathe. With a hand pressed against the trunk of a tree, she bent over and released the contents in her stomach, panting with tears in her eyes, tears that she wiped away furiously with her hand. She was a hunter and would _not_ cry.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she moved trudged forward, her legs feeling wobbly as she tried to keep herself from stumbling to the ground. Her vision was getting blurry and she was angry with herself for it. She was angry at Naruto for killing Lee and Ino and who knew who else, and she was infuriated with Sasuke for hiding everything from her. Why didn't he trust her more? Why didn't he _ever_ tell her _anything_?

Did he think she couldn't handle it? Did he think she would make him kill Naruto or find and kill him herself?

But _wouldn't_ she have?

She had asked herself many times what she would do if she had been in Sasuke's position. Every time she had told herself that she would have done the same thing he had…but could she still say that?

Would she have let him live?

Falling to the ground, she dragged herself over to a tree to lean against. The bark scratched against her cheek but she didn't care. She almost welcomed the sting. She only wished it was strong enough to take over her mind, then maybe she wouldn't have think about them anymore. Any of them. She knew she was far from the village, but she could still hear their screams echoing in her head.

_I did the right thing by leaving. I wouldn't have stood a chance. I would have just died too._

These were things she told herself, but the guilt was still there. She wondered if anyone else managed to escape and where they were. Maybe she would go back and search for them.

_Or maybe I should go look for Naruto…_

She had sworn to kill him, but something inside of her was hesitating and unsure.

Naruto was a monster now, wasn't he? So…why did he save her? Didn't he lose his soul, his human heart when he changed? Was he not the same? But his eyes…they looked the same to her. She felt her cheeks become wet, her nose tingled, and her throat felt thicker as she recalled those eyes looking at her and Sasuke when they were kids. How they would sparkle with mischief as he played pranks on people. Sakura had never told him, but she actually found his pranks to be fun and amusing, instead she berated him for it.

Did she ever even tell him that she loved him? Not in a romantic way, but a deep platonic love. She almost wished she could have loved him romantically. She had a feeling he wouldn't have broken her heart like Sasuke had, not that she begrudged him for it, but she always got the sense that his heart lay elsewhere, she just didn't know where, and that love had been a source of pain for her. She tried so hard to let it go, to be there as his friend, while looking for someone to be there for her. Lee had been that someone. His affections had worried her at first, because she wasn't interested in him that way, but soon they became close friends. However, he ended up being taken from her not long after.

Another friend lost to the monsters in the forest, another reason to kill those same monsters who kept taking away her loved ones.

After losing Naruto and then Lee, she needed someone to lean on, but Sasuke was never around. He always appeared so distant. Sometimes she felt like she had to scream at the top of her lungs to get his attention, but didn't want to look weak to him. In the end, she decided it was more important for him to see her as someone he could depend on than to have him to depend on.

Because her love for Sasuke had and would always be unconditional, wouldn't it?

He had won her heart without trying or wanting it. He had just always been so determined and focused; she admired him greatly because he caught on to things so quickly and seemed so flawless. Her love started off as admiration and developed into something deeper once she got to know him, once he became less perfect. She took note of his flaws and loved him for them,

But his attention was always elsewhere, at someone who wasn't her.

Naruto.

They were close…so much so that it caused some people to question their friendship. Sakura had too, and maybe that was one of the reasons why she was so harsh with him, but then he disappeared and she was left in the dark. She remembered seeing those blue eyes on a monster, but didn't want to believe it. She didn't see them again after that night, so she chose to believe Sasuke and convinced herself that she was seeing things. Then, after Lee passed, she found comfort in an old friend, Ino. She became close with her again and little by little, she felt her heart heal. As much as she longed to be there for Sasuke, she couldn't deny how _good_ it felt to have someone be there for her.

But then Naruto took her away too.

Her mind screamed that she should _hate_ Naruto…but her heart wasn't so sure.

She shrieked when she was forced out of her thoughts by an arrow hitting the tree next to her head, cutting her cheek. Hissing, she cupped her cheek and reached for a dagger in her boot, but froze when Fugaku stepped into view. He looked at her cheek and she immediately knew why he had done that. He wanted to check to make sure she was still human. Narrowing her eyes, she removed her hand to show that she was not allergic to the silver. When he saw that, he put his bow down and came to her.

"You survived. What about Sasuke? Where is he?"

"Sasuke no longer exists."

Sakura's heart froze at that.

"What…what does _that_ mean?! He's…dead?" She wondered if Naruto knew that.

"He's not human anymore."

Sakura's eyes widened at that.

Sasuke was changed.

She looked down and let it sink in. He was probably with Naruto, she realized. Sasuke had been hiding Naruto from her and everyone else for years. Why? She could understand why he saved him, they were friends. But why weren't they able to stay away from each other? Naruto had managed to keep his distance from her and everyone else. Why just Sasuke?

Idly, she noted the ache in her chest at being left out and realized she felt…betrayed by them.

"So…what are you going to do?" she asked, not meeting his eyes, which she knew to be too cold.

"I'm going to kill him."

"Even though he's your son? Is it really that simple?"

When she looked up to meet his eyes, she knew it was. She remembered seeing Itachi's body and, now, there was no doubt in her heart that he did it, even though Itachi hadn't been changed. What had happened there? She was too afraid to ask, but she had a feeling it had something to do with protecting Sasuke. Itachi, though distant, was always silently protective of his little brother.

"He is no longer my son," his eyes narrowed, "or your friend. Don't get your loyalties mixed up."

_What do loyalties have to do with this?_ she thought, surprising herself. _It was never about loyalty. It was about survival, wasn't it?_

"Alright, then I'll help." She hardened her face as best as she could. While Fugaku narrowed his eyes at her, deciding whether he could trust her, she wondered if his eyes had always been so cold and detached. There was no emotion in them when he mentioned Sasuke no longer being one of them, or how he wanted to kill him. There probably hadn't even been emotion in them when he killed Itachi. Was this really the man who everyone in the village looked up to as a leader figure?

"We'll split up then."

Sakura blinked. "How will that be of any help?"

"We'll cover more ground that way. This is a large area and I don't know which direction he went. I'll go east and you'll go west. If you find him, I want you to do whatever you must to defeat him without killing him."

"But…I thought you _wanted_ to kill him?"

"I do. That's why you won't. If you find him, then build a fire. I'll see the smoke and head in your direction. I'll do the same, only I'll be burning his body. You will not. Do you understand? It's _my_ responsibility to burn him, and I don't want another incident like what happened with…_Naruto_."

His nose wrinkled as he spat Naruto's name, as if Naruto was the most disgusting creature he had ever seen. It wasn't unlike how Sakura looked at a spider or any other gross looking bug that was about to be squashed.

Quickly nodding, she got to her feet and began walking in the other direction.

"Oh, and Sakura," Fugaku called from behind her. She stopped to listen, but didn't look over her shoulder. "If I find you helping them escape and hide, I'll consider you one of them and kill you as well."

Sakura's fists clenched.

"Understood."

**~*F*~**

Fugaku stumbled through the forest. He hadn't expected to find Kakashi, but was glad that he had been able to kill him. Still….

He lifted his hand from his bleeding shoulder and looked at the blood. How did he get this wound again? He couldn't remember. He could remember finding Sakura, killing Kakashi, and somewhere in there he had gotten injured. Maybe he had run into a large animal that attacked him. Either way, it didn't matter. He was sure Kakashi couldn't have done it. There was no way.

Grunting, he fell to the ground as pain overtook his entire body. He hoped the animal that attacked him didn't have a disease. Either way, he would have to cover his wound. He ripped off a piece of his clothing and wrapped the material around the wound tightly. He considered going back to the village for medical supplies, but if he did that, then Sasuke – who was probably with Naruto – would get even farther away. He couldn't let him escape. He had been his son, so he had to be the one to kill him.

He leaned back against a tree and forced himself to breathe. It helped lessen the pain but it was still there. His entire being was clenched tight and he had to force himself to relax, but it was so difficult.

_Is this what you wanted for us, Mikoto?_ He thought bitterly towards his dead lover. _Is this what you wanted for your sons? For me? I wish you had never walked into my life. I could have been happy, but you took that from me. Were our sons ever human, ever mine? You deceived me the whole time we were together, how can I be sure of anything anymore, when the person I thought I could trust as my partner lied to me. _

_I hate you._

Killing the werewolves had become like killing Mikoto, again and again. He was so _angry_ with her. He had thought he was with another human, but she hadn't been. He had thought they would have children and live happily together, they hadn't. Instead he had killed her in self defense, sure that she was going to kill him and their sons.

_She was. She was going to kill us. That's what happens when you're changed. You lose your humanity and your soul and become a soulless demon._

For that had to be what werewolves were. Demons from hell sent to take the lives and souls of humans. What other possibility was there? Fugaku had spent years trying to figure out what werewolves were and where they had come from and that was the only explanation he had.

For humans _needed_ explanations. It drove him mad not to have one, so when he came up with a theory, he clung to it and believed it as the only possible truth. And because they were demons out to take his life and soul, he had no choice but to kill them before they could do the same. It was kill or be killed, simple as that.

After Mikoto, he also realized it was best not to get too close to anyone. It was best to keep a distance because they could become demons at any time, especially his sons. After all, they were the offspring of a demon. He had been at war with himself as to whether to kill them or not. Eventually, he decided that so long as they weren't changing on a full moon night, then he could deem them human. But when Sasuke was changed, he knew his son was gone. When Itachi attacked him to save Sasuke, he knew Itachi was no longer one of them and sided with the demons.

He had no choice.

Falling to his side, he groaned at the growing pain until he fell unconscious from it.


End file.
